Parliamentary Committee Notes: Overseas Police Stations
PROC
Date: 2023-04-03
Classification: Unclassified
Fully releasable (ATIP) YES
Branch / Agency: RCMP
Proposed Response:
- The Government of Canada takes threats to the security of individuals living in Canada very seriously. Its primary focus is the safety and protection of the public at all times.
- The RCMP, along with the broader Canadian law enforcement community, has a clear role to play in protecting Canada and Canadians from foreign interference.
- The RCMP continues to actively investigate reports nationally of criminal activity in relation to the so-called "police stations."
- It is important to note that some of the activity the RCMP is investigating is occurring at locations where other legitimate services to the Chinese Canadian Community are being offered.
- The RCMP will not comment on specific locations as investigations are ongoing; however, it can confirm that our national response has disrupted illegal activity in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.
- The RCMP continues to investigate the transnational repression activity, and those responsible for transnational repression, to ensure Chinese and other Canadians are safe from foreign influence.
- We encourage and require community leaders to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to their local police, or the RCMP.
- The RCMP recognizes that Chinese Canadians are victims of the activity we are investigating. There will be no tolerance for this, or any other form of intimidation, harassment, or harmful targeting of diaspora communities or individuals in Canada.
- The RCMP takes threats to the security of individuals living in Canada very seriously, and is aware that foreign states may seek to intimidate or harm communities or individuals within Canada. It is important for all individuals and groups living in Canada, regardless of their nationality, to know that there are support mechanisms in place to assist them when experiencing potential foreign interference or state-backed harassment and intimidation.
- Anyone who feels threatened online or in person should report these incidents to their local police. If someone of the public is in immediate danger, they should call 9-1-1 or contact their local police.
If pressed:
- It should be noted that the Chinese community is not being targeted for investigation, however, illegal activities allegedly conducted by individuals directed by the People's Republic of China.
- The Chinese government and Chinese law enforcement may pursue criminal investigations in Canada, however their activities are guided by the Foreign Criminal Investigator's Protocol.
- This Protocol sets parameters for foreign criminal investigators pursuing foreign criminal investigations in Canada. Should it be found that the alleged police stations are threatening or intimidating Chinese nationals in Canada, they would be circumventing existing international agreements.
- The RCMP is aware of the recent reporting of a police station in Manhattan with alleged potential links to the police station investigations in Canada.
- The RCMP has strong relationships with Canada's security and intelligence community and law enforcement agencies around the world; and, in particular, works closely with our Five Eyes partners, including the United States, to respond to and maintain situational awareness of all threats to national security.
- The RCMP cannot speak to investigations being undertaken by other countries.
Background:
In September 2022, the non-governmental organization Safeguard Defenders released a report entitled "110 Overseas – Chinese Transnational Policing Gone Wild" which alleged that the PRC established 54 overseas police stations (OPS) in 30 different countries, including in Canada. A follow-on report in December claimed that OPS were present in 53 countries.
Furthermore, in September and October 2022, several media outlets reported on the actions of the Chinese Fuzhou Public Security Bureau's (PSB) offices, which are located across five continents, including three in the Greater Toronto Area. These offices purport to assist Chinese nationals in Canada on a variety of fronts, from renewing driver's licenses, to reporting incidents to local police. Media reports claim that these offices are being used as "clandestine hubs" for the Chinese state to target and compel alleged criminals to return to China to face justice. Media are also reporting that foreign agents operate out of these offices and use overt threats against Chinese nationals living abroad (including in Canada), and their family members living abroad to get Chinese nationals to comply.
On October 27, 2022, the RCMP issued a media statement informing the public that it is investigating reports of criminal activity in relation to the so-called "police stations" alleged to be operating on behalf of the PRC in the Greater Toronto Area. As the RCMP is currently investigating this, it cannot comment further. Furthermore, on March 9, 2023, media outlets reported that the RCMP confirmed that two Montreal organizations, the Service à la Famille Chinoise du Grand Montréal, in Montreal's Chinatown, and the Centre Sino-Québec de la Rive-Sud, in Brossard, on the South Shore of Montreal, are being investigated as alleged Chinese police stations.
On April 18, 2023, several media outlets reported that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation indicated that individuals were arrested for allegedly operating a secret police station for China in Manhattan. In an affidavit published online, it is indicated that beginning in or about and between January 2022 and the present, Lu Jianwang, also known as "Harry Lu," and Chen Jinping, together with others, knowingly and willfully conspired to act in the United States as agents of the People's Republic of China (PRC), without prior notification to the Attorney General of the United States, as required by law. The affidavit goes on to indicate that U.S. agents showed Lu Jianwang several photographs located in his device. Among the individuals depicted in the photographs were association presidents from Spain, France, Canada and the Netherlands, as well as the "Deputy Chairperson" of the organization "Fuzhou All China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese."
It is important to note that the Chinese government and Chinese law enforcement are permitted to pursue criminal investigations in Canada, but their activities are guided by the Foreign Criminal Investigator's Protocol (FCIC). This Protocol sets out Canada's notification and approval requirements for regulating the entry and monitoring of foreign criminal investigators pursuing foreign criminal investigations in Canada. Should the Chinese state be using PSB offices to threaten or intimidate Chinese nationals, they would be circumventing existing international agreements.
Contacts:
Prepared by: Sean McGillis, Executive Director, Federal Policing Strategic Management (613) 843-5914
Approved by: Mark Flynn, Deputy Commissioner, Federal Policing (613) 843-5105
(ADM or equivalent only)
- Date modified: