Protest targets Chinese ‘police station’

Friday’s protest organizer Andrew Wagner was skeptical of claims by the Chinese embassy that such locations were to provide services such as driver’s licence renewal for overseas nationals and are not related to police activity.

At least 20 people were spotted protesting an alleged overseas Chinese “police station” in Richmond on Friday afternoon

The hour-long protest took place outside Wenzhou Friendship Society on Hazelbridge Way, with protesters holding flags and signs with messages such as “No CCP interference in Canada ” Members of the media and Richmond RCMP were also present at the scene

A European non-governmental agency, Safeguard Defenders, allege the society, along with many others across the globe, operate under the guise of a Chinese police campaign to contain online fraud, but, in fact, are used by Chinese police to carry out “persuasion to return” operations where overseas Chinese nationals are intimidated or pressured to return to China to “face justice ”

The Richmond RCMP confirmed in December the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team was investigating an alleged Chinese “police station” in Richmond, although they didn’t specify what organization this might be

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“I don’t think they’re simply for renewing driver’s licences and things like that, because most countries would do that at a consulate That’s a highly unusual setup for such a procedure,” he said Friendship society denies intelligence activity

But the society claims it’s not involved in any intelligence activity and that its code of conduct bars its members from such activity under threat of being expelled.

“To the best knowledge of the board of the directors (the ‘Board’) of the Society, neither the Society nor its members have engaged any security intelligence activities with Wenzhou Public Security Bureau of the People’s Republic of China,” the society said in a statement released to the media “The Board and the members of the Society will continue to work to achieve the purpose of the mandate of its Constitution in creating a safe and helpful networking platform for its members and new Chinese immigrants ”

They further state the society requires its members to abide by Canadian laws including “not participating in aiding foreign intelligence gathering activities ”

Its main purposes are to promote fellowship, promote and improve the “morals and virtuous behavior within our society,” encourage social stability locally, promote world peace and do charitable work

One of the earliest mentions of “ overseas police service stations” dates back to a Chinese state media report from 2019, which announced the Qingtian county police of Zhejiang Province established an overseas police service centre in 2018 to provide “convenient” services

The Chinese police claimed the services were related to passport renewal, police operations, collecting opinions from the diaspora community and spreading policy information A team of 135 Qingtianese diasporas were ap-

The issue of these “service stations” gained international notoriety in 2022, when the “110 Overseas” initiative from Fuzhou city in China’s Fujian province kicked off According to an article from the state-owned Fujian Daily, the initiative offers police services over the phone and online platforms, as well as other services similar to the Qingtian operations

The initiative, pioneered by Fuzhou Public Security Bureau, was apparently the first of its kind in the country Anecdotes retold in the article include one of a woman calling from the U S to report her daughter, who was living in Fuzhou, missing. Another tells the tale of a Fuzhounese businessman calling from Mozambique to report an employee who stole money from his company and escaped back to China. The employee was apparently caught within a month

The Safeguard Defenders report links such “service stations” to the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front strategy and overseas associations, such as Richmond’s Wenzhou Friendship Society

“Leaders of hometown associations are frequently rewarded with meetings with CCP officials, participation in party-organised events and symbolic appointments to party-controlled bodies in China,” reads the Safeguard Defenders report

“In return, they are expected to assist the party in its propaganda and political influence activities, such as promoting China’s invasion (under the propaganda guise of ‘peaceful reunification’) of Taiwan.”

The Chinese embassy, however, has told CBC that the “service stations” are staffed with volunteers, not police officers, to help overseas nationals and are not involved in “ any criminal investigation or relevant activity ”

There have also been reports of the Chinese Communist Party allegedly trying to exert influence during the last federal election in Canada with files from Maria Rantanen/Richmond News