China which faced condemnation for opening illegal police posts across the world, is now deploying consulates and overseas courts to crush dissent against the Chinese Communist party, according to an investigative report.
According to the report, China is trying to influence the overseas Chinese and meddle in the democratic processes of the respective countries. It cited a recent incident in which a Hong Kong pro-democracy protestor was dragged into a Chinese consulate in Manchester, England and beaten up. The report of the incident has reached the UK parliament, with the government calling it extremely concerning. Greater Manchester police has launched an investigation.
The consulate, in its defence, has said that the protestors displayed an insulting portrait of China’s president, Xi Jinping. The report also states that fake twitter accounts were created to give a positive image of the consulate involved in the incident using heavily edited images and video clips.
This is not the first time a Chinese consulate has been embroiled in a controversy. In 2021, Twitter locked the official account of the Chinese embassy in United States after it described Uyghur women as’ baby-making machines’ in a tweet.
Chinese embassies also indulge in establishing legal courts in other countries too. The report states that China has opened such courts in several countries under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Countries like the UK, Spain, and Italy also have the presence of these courts. They indulge in influencing local politics, influencing youth towards communism and controlling dissent against Xi Jinping.
In Canada, numerous informal police service stations affiliated with the Public Security Bureau work to antagonise China’s adversaries.
These stations are coming up in countries whose leaders question the rise of China and its worsening human rights record.