China operating ‘police’ station out of Vancouver, civil rights group alleges | 24CA News
A Spanish civil rights group says it has uncovered two new secret “police” stations being operated in Canada, together with one in Vancouver.
Safeguard Defenders has revealed a report revealing the existence of 48 Chinese “police service stations” being operated abroad, along with the 54 stations the group initially reported on in September.
The not-for-profit human rights group has documented a complete of 102 stations in 53 international locations.
The two most up-to-date stations uncovered in Canada, together with the Vancouver station and one other in an unknown location, add to the three stations the group allegedly positioned in Toronto and at the moment underneath investigation by the RCMP.
According to the preliminary report, the Toronto stations had been positioned in predominantly Chinese communities and included a residential residence and single-storey business constructing in Markham and a comfort retailer in Scarborough.
The report says the stations are operated out of 4 Chinese jurisdictions: Nantong, Wenzhou, Qingtian and Fuzhou.
The Vancouver station, whose exact location isn’t recognized, is allegedly operated out of Wenzhou, a port and industrial metropolis in China’s Zhejiang province.
No one from the Chinese Embassy was instantly accessible for touch upon the brand new data, however it has beforehand described the places of work as volunteer-run service stations to course of issues like driver’s licences.
However, Safeguard Defenders alleges the stations are concerned in “persuasion to return” operations. The group says proof reveals people linked to those stations have been concerned in persuading nationals suspected of committing crimes to return to China to face legal proceedings.
The report discovered that a minimum of one “persuasion to return” operation is being run by means of a station in Paris and that the Nantong police system has helped in 80 circumstances of seize or persuasion to return.
“This contradicts PRC authorities’ statements that the stations are merely providing administrative services,” reads the report.
The Chinese authorities has additionally beforehand claimed that the stations had been solely set as much as assist Chinese nationals residing abroad in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Safeguard Defenders claims the overwhelming majority of the 48 newly documented stations had been arrange in 2016.
In September, the RCMP declared it was investigating the Toronto-based stations for “reports of criminal activity in relation to the so-called ‘police’ stations.”
The RCMP additionally mentioned it takes “threats to the security of individuals living in Canada very seriously and is aware that foreign states may seek to intimidate or harm communities or individuals within Canada.”
24CA News has reached out to RCMP in B.C. in addition to the Ministry of Public Safety to ask whether or not the Vancouver allegations raised by Safeguard Defenders are being investigated.
