Czech Republic: China closes two “police stations” in Prague

Safeguard Defenders, a human rights group based in Spain, announced in September that China had created 54 such positions around the world. Critics say China is using these messages to silence opponents of Beijing.

Beijing says the centers provide services such as driving license renewals to Chinese citizens.

“Czech diplomacy has repeatedly raised the issue of ‘police stations’ with the Chinese,” Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told the AFP news agency.

“I discussed it with the Chinese ambassador this week and he assured me that [centrai] They were closed in the Czech Republic,” the minister added.

Last month, the Netherlands ordered China to close two of its “police stations” on its territory. The Canadian Federal Police are also investigating similar centers.

Both centers in the Czech Republic operated in Prague, writes the daily “Denik N”, which was the first to report their existence with the organization “Sinopsis” in October.

According to Sinopsis, the operation of Chinese “police stations” violates the laws of the countries where they are located, as well as international laws.

The group quoted the Prague Centers Director, Chen Jinmei, praising their successful work since the official opening on September 28, 2018.

“The key point is to fully comply with the Communist Party’s policy guidelines on laws, regulations and policies relating to overseas Chinese,” Chen Jinmei said.