China’s diaspora crackdown reaches deep into Europe, report finds

THE HAGUE — Beijing is overseeing nearly 1,250 overseas policing outposts in more than 90 countries to crack down on dissidents, according to a report by a human rights advocacy organization. The report described Europe as a hotspot with hundreds of Beijing’s policing offices across some two dozen European countries, which it said exposed China’s growing attempts to control its diaspora.

Researchers at the Spain-based organization, Safeguard Defenders, gathered open-source evidence from the Chinese Party-state to examine the extent to which the Chinese diaspora is monitored, surveilled and policed around the world. These policing outposts “act as the Chinese Communist Party operatives for community surveillance and enforcement abroad,” according to the report.

The report lands at an awkward time for Europe’s trade officials. Ditte Juul Jørgensen, head of the EU’s trade department — which has been working to balance the trade relationship with Beijing — will meet with China’s Vice Minister of Commerce Ling Ji in Brussels on Thursday.