Secret Chinese Police Stations explained: Are they real - and where is the apparent Secret Chinese Police station in Glasgow?

What are secret Chinese Police stations?

Last night (26 October) the Dutch government launched an investigation into two ‘secret police stations’, supposedly being used by the Chinese Government to spy on, and influence, Chinese people in foreign countries.

The news was uncovered in a recent joint-investigative piece between Dutch news outlets RTL Nieuws and European publication, Follow the Money. China’s government responded to the allegations quickly, saying the reports were ‘completely false’. Some people online have branded the accusations ‘Sinophobic’ - meaning discriminatory against Chinese people.

Last month, the Spanish human rights organisation Safeguard Defenders reported that there were at least 36 (and possibly up to 54) Chinese police stations set up across Europe. According to the report, there is one in Scotland, two in England, and one in Ireland.

Where is the secret Chinese Police station in Glasgow?

The supposed Chinese Police service station in Glasgow is based at 417 Sauchiehall Street - the same address as Cantonese restaurant Loon Fung. So far the restaurant has denied any involvement. A spokesperson for the restaurant told The Times: ‘There’s no secret Police here.’

Are the secret Chinese Police stations real?

While a full investigation still needs to be conducted after the news broke out last night, it would seem that at least the Netherland secret police offices are real.

A report from China News in 2018 details the establishment of one police station in the Chinese province of Qingtian - with plans to open more in the near future. Several dissidents in the Netherlands have come forward to Dutch Police and investigative journalism outlet, Follow the Money, to report on the secret police station.

One Dutch-Chinese dissident, who is currently being chased by the Chinese government to face charges in his home country of ‘belittling heroes’ and ‘causing trouble’ for questioning official death counts in Indian-Chinese conflicts, spoke out about the secret police stations.

The source, known only as Wang, told Follow the Money: “A few months ago I was called from a Dutch number. The man, who did not give his name, said he was from the China Overseas Police Station.

“He asked me to return to China. Remember your parents, he said, if you go back you can fix this. I didn’t even know they had a police station here in the Netherlands. Does the Dutch government actually know that? And if so, how can the Netherlands allow that?”

He was later sent vaguely threatening messages from the same number, supposedly from the Rotterdam secret police station, which were checked and verified by investigative reporters from Follow the Money. The full investigative report from Safeguard Defenders can be found here.

What do secret Chinese police stations do?

According to a report from the Spanish-based non-governmental organisation, Safeguard Defenders, the secret stations are designed to conduct ‘persuasion operations’ to coerce dissidents to return home.

According to the report by RTL and Follow the Money, the Amsterdam secret police station grants around 77 different services. These range from passport applications and driver licence renewals to searching immigration registers and the ‘re-establishment of Chinese nationality’.

The office also arranges all kinds of notarial matters and it helps with ‘bank deposits, advice on proof of income and purchase of financial products’. Finally, Chinese people can go there for all their questions about ‘hukou’, the all-encompassing Chinese system of personal registration.

Between April 2021 and July 2022, Chinese police ‘persuaded’ 230,000 fugitives to return to China ‘voluntarily’ (while admitting not all the targets have committed any crimes). New tools for ‘persuasion operations’ were laid out on paper, including denying the target’s children in China the right to education, and other limitations on family members, punishing those without suspicion of any wrongdoing through the ‘guilt by association’ practice.

Why are the secret Chinese Police stations a problem?

The Police stations are a problem as they aren’t operating legally under the jurisdiction of the country they are in, answering only to the Chinese Government. There was no prior knowledge of these acting Chinese state cells in the UK prior to yesterday’s report.

This practice is contrary to international treaties set up between the UK (as well as all other European countries affected) and China. As they are acting with zero oversight - it comes off as sleeket at best and as international espionage at worst.

Between April 2021 and July 2022, Chinese police ‘persuaded’ some 230,000 fugitives to return to their home country. It was claimed this was done ‘voluntarily’ but the Chinese state did admit not all of these dissidents had committed any crimes.

According to Safeguard Defenders, tools for ‘persuasion operations’ were laid out on paper, including denying the target’s children in China the right to education. Other limitations include the ‘guilt by association’ model in which family members are targeted to persuade dissidents to return and face punishment.

Is anything being done about the secret Chinese Police stations in the UK?

Green MSP Ross Greer raised the report during First Minister’s Questions. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon responded by telling MSPs she was extremely concerned by the report. Yesterday the Dutch government confirmed they are launching an investigation into the existence of undeclared Chinese state police bases across Europe, believing them to be bases used to pressure dissidents and pro-democracy activists.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:"Any foreign country operating in Scotland must abide by Scottish law.

"The Scottish Government fully supports individuals’ rights to freedom of expression. That is also an extremely important principle.

"Obviously, these matters require to be fully and properly investigated and it would not be appropriate for me to go into too much detail, but I do know and I know this as a result of a conversation I had just yesterday with the Chief Constable, that police are aware of these reports.

"Of course, the police are operationally independent and it’s up to them to determine what investigations would be appropriate but they are aware of this and I will repeat, these reports do require to be treated extremely seriously."

As it stands Police Scotland are not currently investigating any reports of criminality surrounding the restaurant.