On April 17, 2023, Lu Jianwang, president of the New York Fujian Association, was arrested in New York City and walked out of the federal courthouse in the Eastern District of New York after appearing in court that afternoon. (Oliver / New Tang Dynasty Television)
[People News] Recently, the Italian government expelled eight Chinese nationals from Italy because these eight had monitored and intimidated Chinese dissidents in Italy. Of the eight, four have already left the country on their own, three were expelled immediately, and one woman has applied for asylum and is currently being detained pending the result.
Harassing dissidents is a crime
At a time when many Chinese people are doing everything they can to “run” out of China and are distressed when they cannot fulfill that wish, some Chinese who have already arrived in foreign countries do not know how to cherish what they have. On the one hand, they enjoy the freedom of life abroad; on the other hand, they secretly do shameful dirty work for the Chinese Communist Party. In the end, it is they themselves who bear the bitter consequences.
According to Liberty Times, citing Italian media disclosures, the Italian government decided on March 5 to expel these eight Chinese nationals because they monitored and intimidated Chinese dissidents, including the well-known influencer Li Ying.
The report said this case has focused Italian public opinion on the Chinese Communist Party’s “overseas police stations,” which are the result of the Chinese Communist Party extending its system of online surveillance into many different countries.
The rights organization Safeguard Defenders pointed out that the eight are accused of long-term stalking and harassment of the well-known Chinese dissident and influencer Li Ying in Italy. Li Ying frequently exposes videos or inside information on X concerning the Chinese Communist Party’s repression of human rights.
The report cited Li Ying’s response as saying that over the past three years he and his team have steadfastly defended press freedom and documented and spread information about incidents censored inside China. “As a result, we have suffered long-term transnational repression by the Chinese government. I, my team, and my family have all faced continuous, comprehensive harassment, threats, and violations.”
Li Ying said he was glad to see the Italian government take action against the Chinese Communist Party’s repression overseas, “which is not only protection for us, but also a defense of basic democratic principles and the rule of law.”
Stealing the personal data of Italian special police
According to Decode39, the timing of this expulsion incident is sensitive, because about three weeks earlier it was reported that Chinese Communist Party hackers had stolen the personal data of about 5,000 officers of Italy’s DIGOS special police. DIGOS is mainly responsible for counterterrorism and monitoring extremism. The information stolen by the Chinese Communist Party hackers included officers’ names, positions, and operational roles, and many of them happened to be responsible for tracking Chinese dissidents.
Decode39 believes this expulsion action shows that the Italian intelligence community has taken a clearer stance toward China. The “2026 Italian Intelligence Annual Report” stated that Beijing is a major player in global geopolitical competition, and for the first time publicly attributed the global cyber-espionage activity code-named “Salt Typhoon” to China.
According to AsiaNews, as cited in the report, the Italian case is not an isolated one. In many Western countries, the Chinese Communist Party’s establishment of overseas police stations is no longer a secret. On the surface, these institutions provide administrative services for overseas Chinese, but in reality they are used to monitor overseas Chinese who criticize the Chinese Communist Party government.
The Chinese Communist Party’s “secret police stations” overseas
According to the BBC, in April 2023, U.S. prosecutors arrested two men in New York, accusing them of operating a “secret police station” in Manhattan’s Chinatown area. The two arrested were then-61-year-old Lu Jianwang and 59-year-old Chen Jinping, both New York City residents, who faced charges of conspiring to act as agents of China and obstructing justice.
According to the prosecution, Lu Jianwang had close ties with Chinese law enforcement authorities and was recruited beginning in 2015 to assist the Chinese Communist Party in carrying out “repression activities,” including the harassment of Chinese dissidents. In 2018, he was accused of participating in an operation to force a person whom the Chinese Communist Party claimed was wanted to return to China, including repeatedly harassing and threatening the relevant people and their family members living in China and the United States. Prosecutors said he was also recruited to search in China for the whereabouts of a pro-democracy activist. However, when facing U.S. authorities, Lu Jianwang denied the related actions.
Breon Peace, the chief prosecutor for Brooklyn, said, “This indictment shows that the Chinese Communist Party government blatantly violated our sovereignty by establishing a secret police station in the heart of New York City.”
Outside observers believe that at least 100 such police stations are operating across 53 countries worldwide, including the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. In March 2023, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced that they had investigated two sites in Montreal believed to be branches of the Chinese Communist Party’s overseas police stations.
△
News magazine bootstrap themes!
I like this themes, fast loading and look profesional
Thank you Carlos!
You're welcome!
Please support me with give positive rating!
Yes Sure!