Concerns Over the Activity of 'Chinese Police Secret Bases' in Canada

Months after the Canadian police announced that they were investigating whether two social centers in Montreal were being used to intimidate or harass Canadian citizens of Chinese descent, the Minister of Public Safety said on Sunday to a Canadian television network that there may be more 'secret police bases' active in Canada. According to Reuters, the Canadian Minister of Security added, 'I am confident that the Canadian police have taken tangible action to disrupt any foreign interference in relations with those so-called “secret police bases,” and if new centers appear, we will continue these decisive actions.' Earlier this month, the Canadian Press reported that despite the Canadian Minister of Security's statements about the closure of all Chinese secret stations in the country, these centers are operating normally. In March, the Canadian police also stated that they were conducting a discreet investigation into these China-related centers in Montreal. Last week, Zhao Wei, a Chinese diplomat, was expelled from Canada after an intelligence report accused him of targeting a Canadian lawmaker critical of China's treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority. The next day, China retaliated by expelling Canadian diplomat Jennifer Lynn Lalonde; China has consistently denied allegations of interference in Canadian affairs. For a long time, the government of Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, has been under pressure to stop suspicious Chinese interventions and initiate public investigations in this regard. To this end, his government has appointed a special investigator to look into the matter. Trudeau previously stated that China attempted to interfere in the 2019 and 2021 elections, but these interventions did not change the outcome. Canadian media have published multiple reports based on claims from anonymous intelligence sources regarding China's plans to interfere in the last two Canadian elections, which Beijing has denied. In a similar report, the Manhattan District Attorney in New York stated that law enforcement officials in the United States arrested two New York residents on charges of establishing a 'Chinese secret police base' in Manhattan's Chinatown. According to the Manhattan District Attorney's office, 61-year-old Lu Jianwang and 59-year-old Chen Jinping are accused of acting as agents of the Chinese government without the knowledge of American authorities. These charges were raised as the U.S. Department of Justice expanded investigations into what U.S. officials describe as attempts at 'transnational repression' by adversaries such as China and Iran to intimidate political opponents residing in the United States. Brian Peace, the senior federal prosecutor in Manhattan, stated, 'This case reveals a blatant violation of our country's sovereignty by the Chinese government through the establishment of a secret police base in the middle of New York City.' Reuters reported that the two arrested suspects confessed to the FBI that they cut off communications with a Chinese government official after learning they were under investigation. Federal prosecutors in the U.S. have charged dozens of Chinese citizens and others with establishing espionage and harassment activities against political opponents residing in the United States, including attempts to forcibly return individuals whom China considers fugitives. Christopher Wray, the FBI director, told the U.S. Senate committee last year that he was 'very concerned' about the presence of such bases in American cities. He stated that the establishment of secret police stations by China constitutes a 'violation of U.S. national sovereignty.'