Secret Chinese police stations in Austria?
Several media reports are said to speak to China unofficial police stations in some European countries such as Germany or the Netherlands. They are said to want to track down Chinese abroad and possible dissidents.
Austria “highly” attractive for secret services
Those caught were blackmailed into returning to China. Affected relatives in China would have to reckon with reprisals.
A report by”mirror“Assuming that such police stations are also supposed to be located in Austria – there are no details. The Ministry of the Interior explained at the request of the “Small newspaper“that nothing more is known, but such stations cannot be ruled out.
It can be observed that “Austria’s diaspora communities, which come from authoritarian countries of origin, are increasingly becoming the focus of intelligence organizations,” according to the Ministry of the Interior.
Beijing speaks of a misunderstanding
In its report, the human rights organization “Safeguard Defenders” lists 30 alleged offices in different countries with telephone numbers and addresses. The intelligent government sets the first actions. It closed a precinct in Dublin that, according to a sign at the entrance, calls itself the “Fuzhou Police Overseas Service Station.”
The government in Beijing feels misunderstood. These foreign offices only serve as a service center for Chinese citizens, i.e. a spokesman for the Chinese foreign office. They were set up during the pandemic to simplify bureaucratic matters, such as extending Chinese driver’s licenses.
“Check each case individually”
“It’s not a centralized operation from Beijing,” Peter Dahlin, head of Safeguard Defenders, told Der Spiegel. The vast majority of areas are housed in apartments, business premises and restaurants by Chinese abroad, who are often organized in cultural associations. All voluntary. “We don’t want to do witch hunts. There are also cultural associations that do really good things,” says Dahlin. “Each case must be examined individually.”
German security authorities have been targeting the police stations for some time. In addition to providing services, the contact points may also involve investigating and monitoring the exile communities.
Apparently that is exactly what happened in the Netherlands. If you call the number listed in Dahlin’s overview as the contact address for the Chinese police station in Rotterdam, a man answers. When he knew that journalists wanted to talk to him, he stopped answering the phone.