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Ottawa investigates possible Chinese 'police stations' in Canada

Ottawa investigates possible Chinese ‘police stations’ in Canada

On Thursday, the Canadian Federal Police said it was investigating reports that China had set up police stations and harassed Chinese expatriates in Canada.

“The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is currently investigating reports of criminal activity related to so-called police stations,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.

In particular, she adds, she “recognizes that foreign countries may seek to intimidate or harm communities or individuals in Canada”.

The announcement follows an investigation by the Human Rights Defenders Protection Group in September, which found there are 54 similar police stations around the world, including three in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada’s largest city.

According to a Spain-based NGO, some of these centers are cooperating with Chinese police to carry out “operations to maintain order on foreign soil.”

For his part, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin described this information as “completely wrong”, during a regular briefing, stressing that Beijing “fully respects” the sovereignty of other countries.

«L’objectif principal de la station-service à l’étranger est de fournir une assistance gratuite aux citoyens chinois» dans le monde pour renouveler leur permis de conduire et bénéficier d’autres services, a précisé à l’AFP l’ambasise in Canada.

The foundation explained that the workers at these stations are “local volunteers” and not “Chinese police officers,” adding that they were in no way involved in “any criminal investigations.”

However, protection advocates maintain that they have several evidence indicating that individuals associated with these stations sought to persuade citizens suspected of crimes to return to China to face criminal proceedings.

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A court document published in the United States markedly reveals a foreign interference case against seven Chinese nationals.

It describes the example of a person accused of embezzlement living in Canada who was pressured in 2018 to return to China, which she eventually did “despite not wanting to return at first,” according to the document.

It also indicates that the Chinese government would have coordinated some of these activities from Toronto.

For its part, Canadian Public Radio quoted a Chinese journalist and activist who, after leaving the country to settle in Canada in 1989, claimed that he was harassed online on several occasions by Chinese officials.

“Now the Chinese police station is here, a few miles from my house, so I wonder where to run,” Sheng Xue told CBC.

Also on Wednesday, Dutch authorities said they were investigating similar “illegal police stations” in the Netherlands.