Chinese 'police stations' in Germany, federal government admits
Chinese police in Hong Kong (illustrative image).
"In Germany there are, to the knowledge of the federal government, two so-called 'overseas police stations'," the interior ministry said.
REUTERS - LAM YIK
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
China has two “police stations” in Germany, likely to monitor dissidents in particular, the German government said on Friday, December 9 in response to a written question from an AFD deputy.
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"
In Germany there are, to the knowledge of the federal government, two so-called 'overseas police stations
'," the Interior Ministry replied to a question from Joana Cotar, an MP for the far-right party. AFD.
For the government, these Chinese police stations are "
rather linked to people and organized in a mobile way
", without "
fixed offices
" having been "
set up
".
“
Chinese Diaspora
”
Still "
according to the information available to the federal government
", these "
police stations
" are held "
by private persons from the Chinese diaspora, originating from classic emigration regions
".
"
The Chinese authorities have no executive power on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany
", assures the Ministry of the Interior, specifying to be "
in contact with the Chinese embassy
" to clarify the situation.
“
The fact that the federal government accepts without flinching the existence of two Chinese police stations in Germany and only confirms it when asked is a flagrant scandal
,” Joana Cotar lamented after receiving the response from the ministry.
Silence opponents?
For their part, the Dutch authorities announced on October 26 that they were investigating possible Chinese police stations in the Netherlands.
According to Dutch media, two "posts
Chinese nationals, one in Amsterdam and the other in Rotterdam, claimed to offer diplomatic assistance to Chinese nationals, although they had not been declared to the Dutch government.
Both "
Chinese police stations, established since 2018, are actually used to silence political opponents, according to the RTL television channel and the Follow the Money investigative site citing a Chinese dissident living in the Netherlands.
The Chinese regime also had two “police stations” in the Czech Republic.
Faced with the outcry aroused by the revelations about their existence and the hunt for dissidents, Beijing had to resolve on Thursday to close them.
(
With
AFP)
►Also read
: Germany in a “balancing game” with China
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