The United States is very concerned that the Chinese government is setting up unauthorized “police stations” in American cities, potentially through them to influence US citizens of Chinese descent. “We are aware of the existence of these stations,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said Thursday at a hearing of the US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

“It is outrageous to me that the Chinese police are trying to establish themselves in New York without, shall we say, proper coordination. This violates sovereignty and circumvents normal procedures for cooperation between the judiciary and law enforcement.”

Republicans in the US House of Representatives had demanded answers from the Biden government about the influence of such “police stations” in October. When asked whether such stations violated US law, Wray said the FBI was reviewing “the legal parameters.”

The United States has already filed some charges against the Chinese government, the FBI chief said. They deal with the harassment, persecution, surveillance and extortion of people living in the United States who disagree with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. “This is a real problem and something we are also talking about with our foreign partners because we are not the only country where this has happened,” he said.

Earlier this month, following an investigation by Dutch authorities, the Chinese Foreign Ministry denied that such stations existed in the Netherlands. China said the offices are to help Chinese citizens renew documents.

Safeguard Defenders, a Europe-based human rights organization, released a report in September uncovering the presence of dozens of Chinese “police stations” in major cities around the world, including New York.

The report said the stations are an extension of Beijing’s efforts to pressure Chinese nationals or their families abroad to return to China and face charges there. The report also linked the “police stations” to the activities of the Communist Party, which is tasked with spreading them abroad.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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