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
Search teams and emergency aid from around the world poured into Turkiye and Syria on Tuesday as rescuers working in freezing temperatures dug, sometimes with their bare hands, through the remains of buildings flattened by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The death toll soared above 5,000 and was still expected to rise.
Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 per cent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey. The eye-watering figure is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago.
Critics say the U.S. and Canada had ample time to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it drifted across North America. The alleged surveillance device initially approached North America near Alaska's Aleutian Islands on Jan 28. According to officials, it crossed into Canadian airspace on Jan. 30, travelling above the Northwest Territories, Alberta and Saskatchewan before re-entering the U.S. on Jan 31.
China said Tuesday it will 'resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests' over the shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon by the United States, as relations between the two countries deteriorate further. The balloon prompted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a highly-anticipated visit to Beijing this week that had offered slight hopes for an improvement in relations.
An Ottawa restaurateur says he was shocked to find his restaurant broken into and even more surprised to discover a giant hole in the wall that led to the neighbouring jewelry store.
Quebec's immigration minister says she was 'surprised' to learn the City of New York is helping to provide free bus tickets to migrants heading north to claim asylum in Canada.
John Benoit of West Jeddore, N.S., says he has been beachcombing for over 50 years, but his most recent discovery -- a Killick anchor -- is by far his most memorable.
As preparations are underway for the anticipated health-care 'working meeting' between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's premiers on Tuesday, new details are emerging about how the much-anticipated federal-provincial gathering will unfold.
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians still see the United States as their country's closest ally, even in an age of isolationism and protectionist policies.
Convicted murderer Daniel Jolivet, in prison for the past 30 years, has maintained his innocence since the day he was arrested. W5 reviews the evidence he painstakingly assembled while behind bars.
More than two years after downtown Beirut was levelled by an explosion, a Lebanese-Canadian family of a 3-year-old girl killed in the blast is still searching for answers.
In Canada, Medical Assistance in Dying is changing. In 2023, people who have a mental disorder as their sole underlying medical condition will become eligible for an assisted death. Originally, that was scheduled to happen on March 17, but the government has asked for a delay. CTVNews.ca/W5 outlines 9 things you need to know about MAiD.
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.
Surveillance video of the moments before a former child actor was run down by a vehicle on the Danforth has been obtained by CTV News Toronto as police search for the driver.
Nearly five years after Matthew Staikos was gunned down in Toronto, the family of the tech CEO is offering up a “significant” reward in the unsolved murder case.
An Ottawa restaurateur says he was shocked to find his restaurant broken into and even more surprised to discover a giant hole in the wall that led to the neighbouring jewelry store.
Homeowners and employees have been left reeling after an Orléans construction company suddenly closed its doors, walking away from half-built houses and projects worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
An Ottawa family fled a fire in their home Saturday barefoot and in their pyjamas, suffering frostbite in the bitter cold. They're now waiting for it to be safe to return and assess the damage.
An aggressive plan to address London, Ont.’s housing crisis has been unveiled by city hall, but meeting the construction targets will require doing things differently.
Netflix users who have been sharing their passwords with friends and family members who live hundreds – or even thousands – of kilometres away won’t be able to do so for much longer, as the streaming service announced its plans to end password sharing.
Two people have died in a serious single-vehicle crash in Kingsville, a third person was injured and transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
An elderly man is dead after a house fire in the small town of Saint-Philippe, about 30 kilometres south of Montreal. Roussillon police confirmed that the fire started around 8 p.m. in a home on Saint-Andre Road.
A Cape Breton councillor feels with a 14 per cent increase now granted to Nova Scotia Power and millions of dollars in profits annually, residents shouldn't be paying out hundreds of dollars to operate a generator to keep the lights on.
While relatively short-lived, the blast of Arctic air in the Maritimes was enough to break some long-standing low temperature records for all three Maritime provinces for both Friday and Saturday.
The province is building an interchange at St Mary's Road and the South Perimeter to help traffic flow better, but some drivers who live in the area aren't happy with how speed limits are being enforced in a portion of this construction zone.
Search teams and emergency aid from around the world poured into Turkiye and Syria on Tuesday as rescuers working in freezing temperatures dug, sometimes with their bare hands, through the remains of buildings flattened by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The death toll soared above 5,000 and was still expected to rise.
Canada's premiers are in Ottawa to meet with the prime minister over access to more health care funding. But that's not all Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has on her mind.
As preparations are underway for the anticipated health-care 'working meeting' between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's premiers on Tuesday, new details are emerging about how the much-anticipated federal-provincial gathering will unfold.
Canada's premiers are in Ottawa to meet with the prime minister over access to more health care funding. But that's not all Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has on her mind.
Search teams and emergency aid from around the world poured into Turkiye and Syria on Tuesday as rescuers working in freezing temperatures dug, sometimes with their bare hands, through the remains of buildings flattened by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The death toll soared above 5,000 and was still expected to rise.
After using Alberta's education curriculum since the 1950s, the Northwest Territories has outlined the timeline it will use to pivot toward British Columbia's program of studies.
There’s so much demand for Vancouver’s mental health emergency teams that people can be left waiting days, and sometimes teams never make it to requests for service at all. It’s hoped a funding boost to hire more staff will increase capacity of the service.
For more than two years, Canada’s premiers have been asking for a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss a new healthcare funding model – and on Tuesday the group will finally get two hours of face time in Ottawa.
Canada's health care system is not working as well as it should and that has to change, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday as he prepared to meet the premiers to work on a new health-care funding deal.
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians still see the United States as their country's closest ally, even in an age of isolationism and protectionist policies.
As preparations are underway for the anticipated health-care 'working meeting' between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's premiers on Tuesday, new details are emerging about how the much-anticipated federal-provincial gathering will unfold.
A U.S. survey found that people who had a personal connection to someone who became ill or died of COVID-19 were more likely to have received at least one shot of the vaccine compared to those who didn’t have any loved ones who had been impacted by the disease.
Canadian researchers are drawing attention to the increasing prevalence of 'a pathological pursuit of muscularity' among Canadian boys and young men, with a new study that found one in four were at risk of developing what's known as muscle dysmorphia.
Pakistan lifted its ban on Wikipedia services before dawn Tuesday, after the country's media regulator blocked the site last week for not removing purportedly blasphemous content, claiming it hurts the sentiments of Muslims.
Google parent Alphabet is planning to launch a chatbot service and more artificial intelligence for its search engine as well as developers, making a riposte to Microsoft in a rivalry to lead a new wave of technology.
February's full snow moon, which first appeared this weekend, will light up the sky over the next two nights, with the spectacle already reaching full illumination on Sunday morning. But this year's full moon was smaller than those of recent years.
Sunday night's 2023 Grammy Awards was a history-making show filled with dynamic performances from iconic musical artists. And through it all, Ben Affleck looked miserable.
Salman Rushdie's new novel 'Victory City' will be published on Tuesday, nearly six months after a man repeatedly stabbed the writer onstage during a lecture in New York state in what was widely condemned as an attack on freedom of expression.
The bail hearing was postponed Monday for a Native American former 'Dances With Wolves' actor who is accused of sexually abusing and trafficking Indigenous girls.
Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 per cent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey. The eye-watering figure is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago.
The Bank of Canada is set to publish its first summary of deliberations Wednesday, giving Canadians a peek into the governing council's reasoning behind its decision to raise interest rates last month.
Wall Street teetered between gains and losses in premarket trading Tuesday ahead of a discussion with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that might give clues about the central bank's interest rate plans for 2023.
She started throwing punches to get exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic, but now 17-year-old Talia Birch is gearing up to compete in the Canada Games as it opens up to female boxers for the first time
Paul George scored 29 points, Kawhi Leonard added 24 and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame a career-high 47 points from Cam Thomas in his first start to beat the short-handed Brooklyn Nets 124-116 on Monday night.
Mortgage executive and former Michigan State guard Mat Ishbia is the new majority owner of the Phoenix Suns and WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, after the NBA's board of governors approved his plan to purchase the controlling stake of those franchises from Robert Sarver.
Automakers Renault and Nissan on Monday formalized their reboot of a relationship that had grown rocky, culminating in the spectacular fall of top executive Carlos Ghosn, who had led successful turnarounds at both companies before his arrest and daring escape.
New research suggests that cutting fossil fuel emissions by adopting electric vehicles can improve air quality and potentially reduce respiratory problems in communities. But these benefits may not apply to all neighbourhoods in the same way.
Former NFL player Jim Bob Morris is heading to the Super Bowl in Phoenix from Bloomington, Illinois, in a newly refurbished set of wheels. His ride has new paint, new seating and even a new bathroom.
