Canadian law enforcement has launched an inquiry into reports of Chinese “police service stations” in Montreal, Quebec. These stations purportedly aimed to harass or intimidate individuals of Chinese descent residing in the country.
The RCMP has indicated that they have received information about two locations that are allegedly functioning as police stations.
China has refuted these allegations, claiming that the stations are merely “service centers” for their citizens living abroad.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed that his administration is “deeply concerned” about this matter.
As per the BBC, he stated, “We are taking this matter seriously and are ensuring that the RCMP investigates it appropriately, along with our intelligence systems.”
This development follows a report by the Spanish NGO Safeguard Defenders, which tracks disappearances in China. The report, released a year ago, alleged that there were over 100 such police stations operating worldwide in 53 countries, including the US and the UK.
According to Safeguard Defenders, these stations are purportedly part of the Chinese government’s strategy to “intimidate, threaten, harass, and coerce” individuals into returning to China to face persecution.
After the publication of the report, numerous countries, such as the US and the Netherlands, conducted comparable investigations.
This development takes place amid allegations of Chinese involvement in Canada’s domestic matters, including the Canadian government’s claims that Beijing sought to interfere in the previous two Canadian elections. China has dismissed these accusations.