British Minister of State for Security Tom Tugendhat addresses a press conference, with Kenya's Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Interior and National Administration Kithure Kindiki, during his visit, in Nairobi, Kenya May 10, 2023. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi
UK’s security minister stated Wednesday that China has shut down all its ‘secret police stations’ located at various places across Britain.
According to reports, the minister Tom Tugendhat also said that nothing illegal came out in the recently concluded investigation of these stations.
Previously, the presence of undisclosed police stations in the UK had raised significant concerns, with Britain expressing its strong disapproval of any form of intimidation of foreign nationals by China or any other state on British soil.
China, however, has denied the existence of such police stations and released a statement through its embassy in London, refuting Tugendhat’s remarks and labeling the accusations of operating police posts in the UK as a “complete political lie.”
Tugendhat, in a written statement to parliament, mentioned that British police had examined the claims made by the non-governmental human rights organization Safeguard Defenders regarding these police stations.
He confirmed that, thus far, no evidence of illegal activity conducted by the Chinese state at these sites had been found.
“We believe that the scrutiny from both the police and the public has had a restraining effect on any administrative activities that these sites may have had,” he stated.
The Chinese government previously stated that there are centers operated by local volunteers, not Chinese police officers, outside of China. These centers aim to assist Chinese citizens with document renewals and provide other services.
In April, two New York residents were arrested by US federal agents for allegedly running a Chinese “secret police station” in Manhattan’s Chinatown district.
China strongly opposed what it considered to be “slanders and smears” by the United States.
The British government acknowledged the existence of approximately 100 such stations worldwide.
Tom Tugendhat confirmed that the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office informed the Chinese embassy that any activities related to these “police service stations” in the UK were unacceptable and should not be operated in any form.
In response, the Chinese embassy asserted that all such stations had permanently closed. They stated that any further allegations would be promptly investigated in accordance with UK law.
When questioned about Tugendhat’s statement, a spokesperson from the Chinese embassy in London denied the existence of any “overseas police posts.” They urged the UK government to refrain from spreading false information, generating hype, and slandering China.
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