The Chinese government has been accused of establishing two illegal police stations in the Netherlands.
According to the BBC Dutch media has uncovered evidence that these outposts are ostensibly to provide diplomatic services, but are being used to silence Chinese dissidents abroad. The Dutch foreign ministry has said that these police stations are illegal, while the Chinese embassy has claimed to have no knowledge of these outposts.
The Dutch investigation was sparked by a report from a Spanish NGO, which found that the Chinese had established over 50 ‘overseas police centres’ in 21 countries, mostly in Europe.
While these stations are ostensibly established to provide administrative services to Chinese citizens, such as renewing driving licences and to combat international crime, they actually intimidate Chinese dissidents abroad and try to coerce them into returning home.