Two more 'police' centres run by Chinese authorities found in Canada: report
Two more 'police' centres run by Chinese authorities found in Canada: report
A human rights organization says it has found dozens of additional overseas Chinese "police service centres" around the world, including at least two more in Canada.
In a new report released Monday called "Patrol and Persuade," the Spain-based non-governmental organization Safeguard Defenders says it used open source statements from People's Republic of China authorities, Chinese police and state media to document at least 48 additional stations.
This on top of the 54 stations revealed in September, bringing the total number of documented centres to 102 in 53 countries. Some host countries also have co-operated in setting up these centres, Safeguard Defenders says.
The stations are accused of targeting Chinese nationals living abroad, particularly those who allegedly committed crimes in China, in order to coerce them to return home.
Safeguard Defenders reports that along with the three police "stations" previously confirmed in the Greater Toronto Area, which are operated out of the Chinese city of Fuzhou, it has found newly confirmed centres in Vancouver, operated out of Wenzhou, and another whose location is unknown but operates out of Nantong.
In a statement to CTV National News on Monday, the RCMP said it's "investigating reports of criminal activity in relation to the so-called 'police' stations." No further details were provided.
The consulate general of the People's Republic of China said at the time that the stations are to help Chinese citizens renew their driver's licences, given many of them are unable to return to China due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the "local volunteers" facilitating this "are not Chinese police officers."
However, Safeguard Defenders says the vast majority of the newly documented stations were set up starting in 2016, years before the pandemic began.
In its previous report in September, Safeguard Defenders found that Chinese police "persuaded" 230,000 claimed fugitives to return to China "voluntarily" between April 2021 and July 2022. Among the tactics used, Safeguard Defenders said, included denying suspects' children in China the right to education and punishing relatives through "guilt by association."
The U.S. Department of Justice accused seven people in October of a yearslong campaign to harass and intimidate a U.S. resident to return to China.
While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the G20 summit in Indonesia in November, his office told reporters that he had raised concerns with Chinese President Xi Jinping of "interference" in Canada.
Asked about what specific interference he referred to, Trudeau later told the House of Commons, "We've known for many years that there are consistent engagements by representatives of the Chinese government into Canadian communities, with local media, reports of illicit Chinese police stations."
With files from CP24 Web Content Writer Joanna Lavoie, CTV National News Vancouver Bureau Chief Melanie Nagy, CTV News Toronto Videojournalist Allison Hurst and The Canadian Press
Authorities in Western Australia on Wednesday recovered a tiny but dangerous radioactive capsule that fell off a truck while being transported along a 1,400-kilometer (870-mile) Outback highway last month in what an official said was like finding the needle in the haystack.
A new report from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada is highlighting 'significant inequities' in women's health care that is disproportionately affecting racialized and Indigenous women, members of the LGBTQ2S+ community and those living with low socioeconomic status.
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner is raising concerns over the federal government's spending on so-called COVID-19 quarantine hotels, calling the total spent on a Calgary-area hotel in 2022 'legitimately flabbergasting.'
A woman held in a detention camp in Syria, along with her three Canadian children, says the federal government is forcing her to make an agonizing choice: relinquish custody of her kids so they can be repatriated to Canada, or keep them in the camp where the conditions are dire. Her children are eligible for repatriation but she is not a Canadian citizen.
The fallout from the December travel chaos continues, as the backlog of complaints made to the Canadian Transportation Agency keeps growing. As of Jan. 31, there have been 6,395 new complaints made to the agency since Dec. 21.
News that she'd be headed back to the office was very welcoming for English instructor Kathy Andvaag, after more than two years teaching from her “dark” and “cold” basement.
On CTVNews.ca/W5: Executive Producer Derek Miller highlights an example of a W5 mini investigation that never made it to air, but made a difference in someone's life nonetheless.
On CTVNews.ca/W5: Executive Producer Derek Miller highlights some of W5's upcoming investigations, including Mexico's multi-billion dollar avocado industry run by cartels, and a continuing look into the Pivot Airlines passengers and crew who were detained for months without charges in the Dominican Republic.
The five-member Pivot Airlines crew, who had been detained in the Dominican Republic for almost eight months, is now back in Canada. An emotional airport reunion took place in a special pre-arrivals area of Toronto Pearson International Airport, as the two flight attendants, pilot, co-pilot and mechanic were greeted by family.
W5 speaks with Pivot Airlines flight attendant Christina Carello, who reveals new details about how she uncovered key evidence that had been tampered with in a nightmare ordeal in the Dominican Republic.
CTV's W5 has been shown never-before-seen surveillance footage of Punta Cana International Airport from the night before a Canadian airline crew was detained after discovering duffel bags stuffed with 210 kilograms of cocaine in their plane's avionics bay.
Fifty years ago, Omar Sachedina’s mother was expelled from Uganda along with tens of thousands of other Asians. This summer, she returned to her village for the first time. Omar recounts, in his own words, the emotional return to his mother’s homeland on CTVNews.ca.
The family of a 95-year-old Ontario woman tricked into withdrawing $10,000 in the middle of a major snowstorm said it's 'absolutely unconscionable' that bank employees allowed her to take out the money without contacting her power of attorney.
The city will lay out its multi-billion dollar spending plan for 2023 today before a whirlwind consultation period this month leading up to final approval March 1.
Algonquin College's Pembroke campus has events planned throughout February to celebrate and acknowledge Black History Month, and the county plans to highlight Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs.
A 45-year-old man was killed and a woman was hospitalized in a stabbing at a south end apartment overnight, police said. A 37-year-old suspect has been arrested.
Higher interest rates meant to cool down inflation have had a major impact on housing sales throughout much of Simcoe County and Muskoka, according to new data.
A Kitchener public school board trustee has released an open letter of dissent, arguing a recent communication to parents from the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) may have a “chilling effect” on those who may wish to voice concerns in public forums.
The Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) could temporarily be relocating to the Brantford Civic Centre while their home ice undergoes major renovations.
London Police Service Chief Steve Williams says an investigation is being conducted after a member of the police service appeared at City Hall in uniform to express opposition to a proposed development.
With lows below -10C peppered throughout the week, enthusiasts of winter fun may be pulling out their ice fishing gear or sharpening their skates in anticipation of frozen lakes -- but officials say it’s unlikely this cold snap will yield any safe surfaces on local waterways.
After days of controversy over the location of the SafePoint consumption and treatment site in Windsor, a compromise was reached at the 11th hour before debate even took place Monday night.
A group of Canadian and global sport educators are calling on the federal government for an immediate independent judicial inquiry into sport abuse across the country.
A man who brutally attacked a 10-year-old girl in Montreal's Pointe-aux-Trembles neighbourhood last spring was declared a high-risk offender by a judge Tuesday.
So far, the winter season across Southwestern Quebec has been marked by above-average snowfall and above-average temperatures, but that is about to change. Cold, arctic air has been gradually pushing into the province.
A blast of Arctic air will combine with northwest gusts to make it feel like -35 degrees or colder for parts of all three Maritime provinces Friday night into Saturday.
A section of the Trans-Canada highway that passes through the Nova Scotia/New Brunswick border remains closed Tuesday evening due to an overturned propane truck in the Londonderry, N.S., area.
New standards for long-term care homes are being rolled out across Canada in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the tragedies that unfolded during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Calgary-area MP is questioning why the federal government spent almost $7 million last year for a quarantine hotel in the city that only 15 people stayed at.
The first instalment of the province’s affordability payments has been automatically deposited into the bank accounts of Albertans already receiving income supports.
Chestermere Mayor Jeff Colvin says people are pushing their own political agendas following an accusation that a city staffer slapped another employee.
Boyle Street Community Services has acknowledged it has a lot of trust-building to do around Edmonton's first potential overdose prevention services south of the river.
The Alberta government says changes are coming to further protect free speech on campuses as a former professor speaking out on so-called “woke” policies prepares for a showdown with the University of Lethbridge.
Disturbing video of a man berating a young couple with homophobic slurs in downtown Vancouver has triggered a police investigation – and prompted an outpouring of support for the victims.
The ongoing toxic drug crisis, waves of COVID-19 and other mass casualty events have B.C. healthcare workers pleading for faster access to mental health care as more of them find themselves distressed and despairing.
Following a week and a half of testimony from 34 witnesses, the jury in the coroner's inquest into death of Vancouver police Const. Nicole Chan began deliberating Tuesday.
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner is raising concerns over the federal government's spending on so-called COVID-19 quarantine hotels, calling the total spent on a Calgary-area hotel in 2022 'legitimately flabbergasting.'
The commission investigating the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act to quell the trucker protests last winter in Ottawa has asked for more time to complete its report.
A new report from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada is highlighting 'significant inequities' in women's health care that is disproportionately affecting racialized and Indigenous women, members of the LGBTQ2S+ community and those living with low socioeconomic status.
Health Canada is reviewing the safety of domperidone amid reports that some breastfeeding mothers in Canada and the U.S. have had serious psychiatric symptoms when they tried to stop taking the drug.
Australian authorities are mounting an extensive search for a tiny radioactive capsule believed to have fallen out of a road train that travelled 1,400 km in Western Australia. Here's what you need to know:
The Canadian economy grew slightly in November and looks to have stalled further at the end of the year as higher interest rates began to slow spending.
News that she'd be headed back to the office was very welcoming for English instructor Kathy Andvaag, after more than two years teaching from her “dark” and “cold” basement.
With the spring break travel season approaching, those looking to flee the cold, wet Canadian snow for sunnier skies will likely be met with a hefty price tag for their getaway, with inflation and increased demand pushing costs up.
Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge says ending abuse in sport will require complaints processes that include provincial-level athletes, not just national ones.
Ukraine hopes to secure widespread international support for banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Paris Olympics due to Moscow's invasion, the sports minister said on Tuesday.
The U.S. Justice Department has requested documents from Tesla related to its Autopilot and 'Full Self-Driving' features, according to a regulatory filing.
Europe is taking another big step toward cutting its energy ties with Russia, banning imports of diesel fuel and other products made from crude oil in Russian refineries. The European Union ban takes effect Feb. 5 following its embargo on coal and most oil from Russia.
Kia and Hyundai vehicles sold in Canada do not have the same anti-theft issue as those in the United States because of Canadian regulations, the automakers say.
