Authorities in the Netherlands have detected clandestine Chinese police offices in Amsterdam and Rotterdam that allegedly serve to persecute political dissidents.
China masks these alleged activities within what it calls «service centers», active in several countries, according to information published Wednesday by RTL Nieuws and the research platform Follow the Money. In theory, they serve to facilitate formalities for Chinese citizens living abroad, for example to renew driving licenses.
However, it also performs police work and information gathering. The activity now under suspicion dates back to 2018, in the case of Amsterdam, and to this same year, in the case of Rotterdam.
An exiled dissident quoted by RTL has explained that he was summoned to the Rotterdam office and urged to return to China to solve his «problems.» «They also told me that I had to think about my parents,» he said.
