Government confirms Chinese communist regime was operating secret police stations in the UK - with Belfast, London, and Glasgow all suspected to have hosted one

In a written statement to Parliament today, Tom Tughendhat, Minister of State for Security, said Beijing itself had acknowledged “that all such stations have closed permanently”.

The government used the past tense to describe the stations’ activities (speaking of the “administrative activity they were performing” (News Letter’s emphasis), indicating it is confident that Beijing’s assurance is truthful.

There were alleged to have been at least four such stations: two in London, one in Glasgow, and one in Belfast.

However, the government also said it had not detected any illegal activity by China in relation to the stations.

Here, in full, is the UK government statement, as delivered today:

Last November, I committed to update the House on the response to media reporting of unofficial Chinese ‘police service stations’. The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire reiterated this commitment in April.

Reports by the non-governmental organisation Safeguard Defenders claimed that there were three Chinese ‘police service stations’ in the UK - in Croydon, Glasgow, and Hendon. Further allegations have been made about an additional site in Belfast.

These reports alleged that, whilst these ‘police service stations’ are officially set up in countries across the world to conduct administrative tasks to support Chinese nationals residing abroad, they are also used to monitor and harass diaspora communities and, in some cases, to coerce people to return to China outside of legitimate channels.

The Police have visited each of the locations identified by Safeguard Defenders, and carefully looked into these allegations to consider whether any laws have been broken and whether any further action should be taken.

I can confirm that they have not, to date, identified any evidence of illegal activity on behalf of the Chinese state across these sites. We assess that police and public scrutiny have had a suppressive impact on any administrative functions these sites may have had.

However, these ‘police service stations’ were established without our permission and their presence, regardless of whatever low level administrative activity they were performing, will have worried and intimidated those who have left China and sought safety and freedom here in the UK. This is unacceptable.

The Chinese authorities regularly criticise others for what they see as interference in their internal affairs.

Yet, they felt able to open unattributed sites without consulting the UK Government. It is alleged that this was a pattern repeated around the world.

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office have told the Chinese Embassy that any functions related to such ‘police service stations’ in the UK are unacceptable and that they must not operate in any form.

The Chinese Embassy have subsequently responded that all such stations have closed permanently. Any further allegations will be swiftly investigated in line with UK law.

I hope that this clarifies what we know about these alleged ‘police service stations’ and the action that we have taken.

The 2023 Integrated Review Refresh makes clear that we want to engage and partner with China on key issues where it is in our national interest to do so. However, the UK will always put national security first.

Let me be clear, any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated.

This is an insidious threat to our democracy and fundamental human rights.

That is why I asked the Defending Democracy Taskforce to review the UK’s approach to transnational repression to ensure we have a robust and joined up response across government and law enforcement.

Understanding and combatting this kind of interference is a key pillar of our Taskforce’s efforts.

The National Security Bill, now in its final stages, represents the biggest overhaul of state threats legislation in a generation, and will drastically improve our tools to deal with the full range of state threat activity, regardless of where it originates.

The Bill contains provisions that will leave those seeking to coerce, including through threats of violence, for, or with the intention to benefit, a foreign state liable to prosecution in a way that they currently are not.

Those convicted could face up to 14 years in prison.

I urge Parliament to quickly pass the Bill so its powers can be used to clamp down on foreign interference and transnational repression.

I look forward to working closely with this House to further protect our democracy.

More at these links:

1 > Human Rights Watch says NI uni should close institute linked to Chinese Communist Party

2 > ‘Anti-slavery’ NI university should speak up for victims of Chinese regime: Campaigner

China has been governed by the same communist party since the end of the civil war in 1949.

The party was under control of Mao Zedong from 1943 to his death in 1976, during which unknown tens of millions of people were killed by state-backed communist mobs, in purges, and by policies such as the Great Leap Forward, which led to the fatal starvation of a significant (but unknown) slice of the entire Chinese population.

Over the last year, China has ramped up threats to invade the independent island nation of Taiwan (which Beijing insists is part of communist China).

And one year ago, the cross-party House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee called on the government to recognise that “genocide” is under way against ethnic Uyghur people in Xinjiang province, including “the detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in ‘political re-education camps’” (that’s out of about 12 million Uyghurs thought to be living in the province).

Here are some of the other stories the News Letter has been running on the subject in recent times:

• 3 > Netflix show ‘How To Become a Tyrant’ is sweeping Mao’s mass murder under the carpet says vocal China critic

• 4 > VIDEO: Belfast-based diplomat circulates messages warning that those who offend China stand to ‘perish by fire’ and risk ‘becoming enemies to 1.4 billion Chinese people’