China vehemently denied on Wednesday that it has set up “secret police stations” in the UK to intimidate opponents. The British government had demanded the closure of those offices on Tuesday.
According to Spain-based human rights organization Safeguard Defenders, China has opened dozens of secret police stations worldwide, three in the United Kingdom. The offices’ primary purpose is to conduct “police enforcement operations on foreign soil” and to intimidate dissident Chinese voices abroad.
The British Foreign Office subsequently informed the Chinese embassy that “any position related to such ‘police offices’ in the UK is unacceptable, and they should not operate under any circumstances”. State Secretary for Security Tom Tugendhat announced this in a written statement to parliament on Tuesday. He did state that there is currently no evidence of illegal activities on British territory.
China denies the existence of the clandestine offices on Wednesday. “China scrupulously respects international law and the judicial sovereignty of all countries,” said Wang Wenbin, China’s foreign ministry spokesman. “These so-called police stations just don’t exist.” The country urges the British government to “respect the facts”. The UK must stop “discrediting China” and “obstructing Sino-British relations,” it snaps.
