Patrol and Persuade - A follow up on 110 Overseas investigation

This latest release documents further extensive evidence of the establishment by local PRC Public Security authorities of at least 102 “Chinese Overseas Police Service Centers” in 53 countries around the world and how some of them have been partaking in the execution of "persuasions to return" operations. Patrol and Persuade (PDF) also documents the (silent) complicity of a number of host countries, instilling a further sense of fear into targeted communities and severely undermining the international rules-based order.

Download and read the full Patrol and Persuade report here. It is highly recommended to read the prior brief investigation, 110 Overseas – China’s Transnational Policing Gone Wild, before reading this new follow-up investigation.

Note: Slightly revised version was uploaded on December 13, adding two stations to the master table on page 6/7 and revising a translation on page 27, as noted in document. 

Background

On September 12, 2022, Safeguard Defenders released its investigation 110 Overseas, a follow-up to its much larger January 2022 report Involuntary Returns documenting the PRC’s illicit methods to harass, threaten, intimidate and force targets to return to China for persecution.

Investigations have since been launched by law enforcement agencies in at least twelve countries, and the issue has been raised at the highest level, including the bilateral meeting between Canadian PM Trudeau and CCP Secretary General Xi Jinping during the Bali G20 in November of this year.

On December 8, 2022, Safeguard Defenders will testify at a public hearing before the European Parliament’s Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation. [Request media accreditation]

Main findings

This latest release, based on open source statements by PRC authorities, Chinese police or State/Party media, has been made possible also thanks to the work of individual journalists in targeted countries.

Safeguard Defenders welcomes the actions undertaken by a growing number of democratic Governments since the existence of the Chinese overseas police service centers was first unveiled. However, many countries are yet to respond and more coordinated efforts are needed to halt the rapidly growing long-arm policing efforts by PRC authorities which severely infringe on fundamental freedoms and universal human rights around the world.

To that end, Safeguard Defenders recommends all Governments to

• Thoroughly investigate the Chinese “Overseas Police Service Centers” and their underpinning United Front networks - a network which is engaged in influence operations to align local policies and activities around the world with CCP interests, as well as seeks to divide and silence CCP critics;
• Firmly denounce and investigate all transnational repression efforts by the PRC and impose concrete costs on the entities and individuals involved, including through the imposition of coordinated targeted sanctions;
• Instate dedicated reporting and protection mechanisms for those targeted or at risk of such activities;
• Educate local law enforcement and judicial authorities on the means and methods used in these transnational repression efforts;
• Review and suspend cooperation agreements with the PRC bodies leading these efforts, in particular the Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection / National Commission of Supervision and the Ministry for Public Security;
• Uphold the most recent European Court of Human Rights’ judgment barring the extradition of individuals to the PRC on the grounds of the “general situation of violence” in its judicial and penitentiary system. To that end: suspend all bilateral extradition treaties with the PRC and Hong Kong.

The original investigation, 110 Overseas, exposed China’s massive fugitive campaign to persuade those accused of fraud- and related crimes to return to China, and the establishment of a system of clandestine overseas Chinese police service stations across five continents, run by select local police forces in China. A revised edition was released October 29, correcting a factual mistake regarding a Yunnan police operation targeting Northern Myanmar and correcting some minor issues, and with additional sources added; mistakes identified courtesy of Jeremy Daum. It is highly recommended to read the prior brief investigation before reading this new follow-up investigation. Download and read the full Patrol and Persuade here, and its predecessor, 110 Overseas here.

At least two "persuasion to return" operations identified are tied to targets of the Fox Hunt operation. Likewise, the "persuasion" type of operation is essential to the Fox Hunt campaign. Hence we strongly recommend reading Safeguard Defenders Involuntary Returns report. It stands as the first comprehensive report on China’s Fox Hunt and Sky Net operations, run by China’s Communist Party’s anti-corruption watchdog and Chinese police, aimed at forcing high-value targets to return to China. At the time of writing, the Fox Hunt operation claims over 11,000 successful returns of claimed fugitives from over 120 countries, many of them via “involuntary” return operations, ranging from threats to, or detention of, family back in China, sending agents abroad to harass targets in host countries, and direct kidnappings.

The first extensive report on China’s use of extradition requests and how such extradition cooperation undermines the rule of law commitments in the countries that cooperate with them and undermine related treatises and values internationally. It also maps how China abuses INTERPOL as part of its extradition-based manhunts and how attempts at extradition often serve political purposes. It also stands as a how-to manual for legal practitioners in the most effective ways to stop extraditions to the PRC.