In recent days, there are indications from various countries that China could be building or already have police stations in them.
These stations are not affiliated to the countries in question but are allegedly designed to serve the Chinese state.
Debt terms or repression measures?
On social media, some residents of African countries insinuate that this can be part of their debt package to Africans. China is the single highest lender to African nations. But these police stations have also come up in Italy, Spain, Netherlands, and this looks like a repression measure for dissident citizens.
Dutch media claims that these police stations are used to monitor and threaten critics of the Chinese government.
What’s China saying.
They’ve rejected these accusations and instead argued that it was set up for diplomatic purposes but who renews their passports in a police station?
What this could mean.
If the allegations are confirmed to be true, that means China is going against the territorial integrity of these nations. They are also contravening international laws and circumventing domestic protection laws and services.
A deeper look
China’s national Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law, which asserts extraterritorial jurisdiction over all Chinese nationals worldwide who are accused of committing various kinds of fraud, was adopted on 2nd September.
Theoretically, the new legislation and Chinese police forces stationed abroad provide dissidents nowhere to run.
In the Netherlands, The Dutch government is under pressure to ensure that those who are granted asylum and express opposition to the Chinese regime can be protected under Dutch law in the Netherlands.