US House select committee seeks answers from FBI on Chinese govt run police 'outposts'

Seeking answers about alleged Chinese-government run police outposts on US soil, the chairman of a new United States House of Representatives select committee focused on China Mike Turner, sent a letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Christopher Wray on Friday, reported The Straits Times.

Wray had in November 2022, told Congress that he was deeply concerned about Beijing setting up unauthorised "police stations" in US cities to possibly pursue influence operations. He, however, declined at the time to detail the bureau's investigative work on the issue.

"Through these outposts and other tools of coercion, the CCP has violated the rights of American citizens, residents, and visitors," the committee's Republican chairman, Representative Mike Gallagher, wrote in the letter, referring to China's ruling Communist Party.

Gallagher said he worried the FBI had been "late to the game" in investigating the matter and asked Wray to disclose when the FBI became aware of the issue and how widespread such outposts were in the US, The Straits Times reported.

The FBI, however, didn't comment on the issue

A report published in September 2022, by Europe-based rights organisation Safeguard Defenders, revealed that there are dozens of Chinese police "service stations" around the world and linked them to activities of China's United Front Work Department, a Communist Party body charged with spreading its influence overseas.

China has, however, denied operating "police stations" on US soil, calling certain sites volunteer-run, according to The Straits Times.

China, however, rejected reports of the deployment of overseas "police stations" in foreign nations, saying "police service centres" outside the country only assist Chinese nationals in accessing the online service platform in the respective countries.

Beijing's response came after the Dutch government ordered China to close the "police service stations" in the Netherlands, saying that no permission was sought for the "police service stations" from them.

Addressing a press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said these sites mentioned are not "police stations" or "police service centres".

"They assist overseas Chinese nationals who need help in accessing the online service platform to get their driving licenses renewed and receive physical check-ups for that purpose. The venues are provided by local overseas Chinese communities who would like to be helpful, and the people who work on those sites are all volunteers who come from these communities," he said.

"They are not police personnel from China. There is no need to make people nervous about this," Zhao added.

( With inputs from ANI )