China Operating Illegal Spy Hubs in Several US Cities

ANALYSIS – It's time to kick them all out. Most of us have heard of the Chinese Communist (Chicom) so-called ‘police service centers' in the U.S. and allied countries.

I've written about them here.

As a reminder, back in April, the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged two men for allegedly establishing a secret Chinese police station in New York City in order to “monitor and intimidate dissidents” and others critical of China.

But we are learning much more about these odious extrajudicial Chinese law enforcement operations that monitor and bully people living in America. And there may be several more of these illegal spy outposts in American cities across the country.

A new report by Safeguard Defenders, noted by the New York Post, says that, in addition to Los Angeles and New York, the nonprofit has found Chicom so-called “overseas service stations” in San Francisco and Houston as well as in cities in Nebraska and Minnesota.

These illegal spy hubs are operating on U.S. soil in plain sight. Often under the cover of an American nonprofit organization.

While I've written about some of the spying conducted from these centers, they have mostly been associated with Chinese law enforcement agencies.

However, reporting by the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) now provides more detail on how a little-known Chinese intelligence agency quietly operates these “service centers” in American cities.

This, according to Chinese state media reports and government records.

The organization behind these operations, which I have previously discussed here, is the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) United Front Work Department (UFWD or United Front). 

The U.S.-China Economic Security and Review Commission describes the UFWD as a “Chinese intelligence service” and the CCP organ “responsible for coordinating [foreign and domestic] influence operations.” 

It also runs so-called “Overseas Chinese Service Centers” (OCSCs) embedded in various U.S.-based nonprofits created to support Chinese interests.

China has set up OCSCs in at least 60 locations worldwide since 2014,  according to reports from the mouthpiece for Beijing's ‘Overseas Chinese Affairs Office.'

OCSCs are allowed to operate on American soil in American nonprofits because they are supposed to only promote Chinese culture and assist Chinese citizens living abroad. 

But even the Chinese state media admits they are used for far more nefarious means.

The Daily Caller reported:

State media reports, Chinese government records and social media posts show that during a 2018 trip to China, U.S.-based OCSC representatives met with Ministry of Public Security (MPS) officials. During the meeting, state security officials demonstrated how they're leveraging new technology to conduct “cross-border remote justice services” overseas.

MPS is China's national police authority and has been referred to as “China's FBI” by China experts. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says MPS also conducts covert “intelligence and national security operations far beyond China's borders,” including “illicit, transnational repression schemes” on U.S. soil.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington has said that the centers are organized by “warm-hearted” volunteers and have no “affiliation with any Chinese government agency.” 

But we know that is a bunch of nonsense.

And Republican lawmakers are expressing grave concerns: “These centers aren't there to help people get a business license or help resolve a domestic dispute,” Utah Republican Rep. Chris Stewart, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told the DCNF.

“They're here to pressure, to use coercion and to use malicious influence.”

The Daily Caller did provide the caveat that: “There's no evidence U.S.-based service centers operate as, or house, secret police stations, and the DOJ has yet to mention these entities in any statements or legal filings.”

Still, it added: “Nonetheless, OCSCs' association with China's United Front system and contact with MPS raised red flags for legal and intelligence experts.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Republican from Tennessee, told the DCNF that it was a “direct violation of our nation's sovereignty” for the Chicoms to “set up shop on our soil to threaten, surveil and kidnap Chinese American citizens with a dissenting opinion.”

I would argue that it is unacceptable, and the DOJ, FBI and State Department should immediately identify all Chinese Communist service centers in the U.S. and remove them from U.S. soil. 

If U.S. nonprofits are hosting them, their nonprofit status should be revoked by the IRS, or they should be required to register as Foreign Agents.

Referencing these Chicom service centers, Will Mackie, a federal prosecutor formerly with the counterintelligence section of the DOJ's National Security Division, told the DCNF that: “The national security threat is real.”

He added that, “Simply put, we should know which foreign government agents — including ‘unofficial' actors — are operating in our country for whatever reason.”

Mackie also argued that American nonprofits performing quasi-governmental duties for China is “inconsistent” with diplomatic protocol, if not “illegal.”

And I wholeheartedly agree. That's why only vetted Chinese Communist official personnel assigned here as accredited diplomats should be allowed to operate here officially. 

Those are the spies we know. Kick the rest of them out.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

READ NEXT: Special Counsel Called On To Investigate Biden Family Corruption Allegations