More ‘police stations’ run by China found in Canada, report says

VANCOUVER-Two more overseas police stations" run by authorities in China have been found operating in Canada, according to an international human rights organization.

In September, Safeguard Defenders released a report alleging that three such stations were operating in the Greater Toronto Area, part of a report that found 54 sites in a number of countries around the globe.

Safeguard Defenders, which is based in Spain, alleges the sites are being used to intimidate and harass people the Chinese government wants to return to that country, in some cases to face criminal prosecution, but for varying reasons.

After the group's first report, China insisted the stations are there to help citizens with tasks such as renewing their driver's licences.

Authorities in Canada have said they are investigating the matter. Last week, it was revealed during a House of Commons committee meeting in Ottawa that Global Affairs had summoned China's ambassador over the stations.

The followup report Monday detailing even more stations around the world now says there are at least two additional stations in Canada, one in Vancouver and the other in an unknown location.

The information compiled in the report is gleaned from publicly available documents and reports written in Chinese.

The Vancouver location is being operated by authorities from Wenzhou, Safeguard Defenders says, a city in the country's Zhejiang province.

Another, unknown, location is being operated by police from the city of Nantong in China's Jiangsu province, the report says.

More to come...

Jeremy Nuttall is a Vancouver-based reporter for the Star.