TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Chinese dissident living in the Netherlands cooperated with Dutch police officers on Nov. 7 to arrest a Chinese “overseas police officer” who had been threatening the dissident’s safety.

Members of an “Overseas Police Service Station” established by Chinese authorities were harassing the young man, Wang Ching-yu (王靖渝). Wang is wanted by Chinese authorities for his support of the Hong Kong democracy protests and for remarks he made online about the People’s Liberation Army, reported RTI.

Wang spoke with Taiwanese media on Nov. 10 to explain what happened. According to Wang, a CCP agent contacted Wang on Nov. 6 saying that he would “kill him” if he did not cooperate.

The next day, Wang received a phone call when the agent threatened to “arrest” Wang in his home if he did not go to The Hague Railway Station for a meeting. After both incidents, Wang was in contact with the Dutch police. At the scheduled meeting place, 10 Dutch police officers arrived to arrest the CCP agent and investigate his activity in the country.

Wang said that European governments are aware of China’s extrajudicial activity overseas and that they are taking steps to combat the illegal activity. Wang also shared a message for Taiwan, “Don’t trust anything the CCP says, and protect your democracy and freedom,” per RTI.

If China is allowed to intervene in Taiwan’s governance, then it will become the same as China, leading to dictatorship and repression, said Wang.

In September, the non-governmental organization Safeguard Defenders released a report entitled 110 Overseas: Chinese Transnational Policing Gone Wild. It examined “Overseas Police Service Stations” established by provincial governments in China. The NGO report revealed that at least 54 service stations were operating in 21 countries across Europe.

(Safeguard Defenders image)

At these service stations, Chinese “police officers” work with China’s United Front network to locate and harass Chinese citizens living abroad. The CCP agents regularly threaten targets and their families as a means of coercing them to return to China, where they will likely face imprisonment.

Fortunately, in the two months since the report was released, there have been some major developments that will likely restrict the ability of CCP agents to operate in Europe unimpeded. Several “service station” offices have already been shut down, with 14 governments launching investigations into their illegal activity.

In the Netherlands, police began investigating two overseas Chinese police stations in October, reports DW. It is likely they were aware of the individual harassing Wang before he was apprehended this week.



Further, on Nov. 3, the European Court of Human Rights issued a landmark decision blocking the extradition of a Taiwanese citizen to China. Observers hope the decision will mark an end to the arbitrary extradition of Taiwanese citizens to China and drastically reduce the Chinese government’s ability to involuntarily repatriate Chinese citizens fleeing from the authoritarian regime in Beijing.



Wang’s case in the Netherlands is being processed. The unidentified CCP agent is likely to face criminal charges, according to reports.