Dutch FM: Secret Chinese police offices in NL “unacceptable”; Investigation underway

It is “unacceptable” that the Chinese police have offices in the Netherlands, which allegedly monitor Chinese dissidents, said Minister Wopke Hoekstra of Foreign Affairs said. His Ministry will investigate the existence and activities of these offices.

Hoekstra said on Twitter that the government will “get to the bottom” of this, speaking of “very worrying signals.”

RTL Nieuws and Follow the Money discovered the two Chinese “service stations,” which are intended on paper to handle administrative matters. According to RTL, they were established in 2018 without the government’s knowledge.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said to ANP on Tuesday that alone is already illegal.

The broadcaster reported that the offices also facilitate Chinese police activities abroad. Their work allegedly included following Chinese Dutch people who expressed criticism of the regime.

The offices are located in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. According to the Spanish human rights organization Safeguard Defenders, China has such offices in several countries.

China is also one of several countries accused in the past of intimidating current citizens, former citizens, and the Chinese diaspora present in the Netherlands. By August 2020, dozens of Uyghur people reported to the Public Prosecution Service that Chinese authorities were exerting pressure on them.

Last week, the Cabinet announced plans to make it easier for victims to report threats, extortion and harassment by foreign agents.