Netherlands orders closure of Chinese police offices

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Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra orders the immediate closure of Chinese police offices in the Netherlands

Photo: JULIEN WARNAND / EPA

China must close its police offices in the Netherlands, which opened without permission from the authorities, with immediate effect.

That was ordered by Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra.

He informed the Chinese ambassador about this, the minister said, according to a report by the ANP news agency.

The minister called the police offices “unacceptable”.

The Dutch authorities would never have given their consent.

The ministry will now investigate exactly what activities took place in the offices.

Dutch media found out last week that China had set up police offices in Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

The Chinese authorities are said to be putting pressure on dissidents who have fled under the guise of “service centers”.

According to the Foreign Minister, there should also be such offices in other European countries.

The authorities in Frankfurt am Main are also investigating a suspicion.

RTL and the investigative platform “Follow the Money” reported on the offices in Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

They cited escaped Chinese dissident Wang Jingyu, who said he was being pursued by Chinese police in the Netherlands.

He was asked by phone to appear in one of the alleged service centers - he was then pressured to return to China.

The Chinese embassy told RTL that it was not aware of the existence of police stations.

At the same time, however, there are media reports showing a high-ranking Chinese embassy employee at a planning meeting for the Amsterdam branch.

China had also stated that Chinese people could extend their driver's licenses in the said facilities.

But the approval of the authorities in the host country is also necessary for such consular tasks, said Minister Hoekstra.

sak/dpa