CHINA WATCHChina’s Overseas Police Stations: Global Concerns

By Mohan Singh Dhangar

As China has emerged as a great power, it has sought to augment its overseas presence in the international arena through measures like the establishment of Confucius Institutes and military bases and access points worldwide.1 The setting up of overseas police stations is a recent development that has invited international scrutiny, sparking serious concerns regarding the breach of international norms and the erosion of host countries’ sovereignty.2

On the surface, the Chinese government has presented these Overseas Police Stations as entities created to assist Chinese citizens abroad, especially in light of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.3 According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, these stations serve as overseas Chinese service centers, catering to the needs of the Chinese diaspora and tourists.4 Supposedly, their primary objective is to provide assistance to Chinese nationals in foreign lands, including support with lost passports, legal issues and various emergencies.

However, the reality behind their operations paints a far more troubling picture. What make these stations particularly concerning are their covert nature and the methods employed by Chinese officials operating within them. The gravity of this issue became even more apparent with the disclosure of startling statistics by China’s Ministry of Public Security. On 14 April 2022, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Public Security revealed that 210,000 individuals were persuaded to return to China in the previous year.5 This number surged further, with Chinese authorities claiming on 17 August 2022 that between April and July of the same year, they had persuaded more than 230,000 Chinese nationals to return from abroad to face criminal proceedings in China.6