The UK Government has been criticised for its response to allegations of unofficial Chinese police stations operating in the country.
The Chair of the Defence Select Committee, Tobias Ellwood, accused the Home Office of being “fearful,” “timid” and “wet” in its handling of the issue, stating that successive governments have been “too timid in wanting to stand up to China.”
Ellwood spoke of a culture of “hesitance” amongst British leaders, who have been afraid that taking a stand against China would result in retaliation and further loss of trade.
The allegations surfaced in February, when Sir Iain Duncan Smith claimed that Chinese nationals were running unofficial police stations in London and Glasgow, targeting expats who are no longer in China and bullying them to return home.
The stations have reportedly forced numerous British-based Chinese expats to leave the UK for China. Duncan Smith accused the British Government of doing “absolutely nothing” to shut them down.
Ellwood expressed concern that if Britain continues to allow this kind of behaviour from the Chinese government, it is enabling the conditions for greater exploitation at the hands of Beijing in the future.
He warned that China is continually pushing the envelope of what is acceptable, citing the example of Confucius centres and Chinese policing operations that monitor their own people.
Ellwood called for a completely robust response to such behaviour, stating that too often, the government is “just too wet.”
A government spokesperson said that reports of alleged undeclared “police stations” operating in the UK are of course very concerning and taken extremely seriously.
Attempts by foreign Governments to coerce, intimidate, harass, or harm their critics overseas, undermining democracy and the rule of law, are unacceptable. The UK Government is committed to tackling these challenges wherever they originate.
In recent years, China has been accused of increasing attempts to assert its influence overseas, including in Australia and Canada, where allegations of Chinese espionage have come to light.
The UK has also been facing growing pressure from the US to limit its ties with China. The accusations of unofficial Chinese police stations operating in the UK are the latest in a string of allegations that are likely to further strain UK-China relations.
