A Chinese police bureau has set up dozens of “service stations” overseas, including three in the UK and one in Ireland, according to a new report.
The report, published on Monday by human rights NGO Safeguard Defenders (pdf), says that the stations, dubbed “110 Overseas” after the national police emergency phone number, are part of a programme piloted by the Fuzhou Public Security Bureau (PSB).
By June 21, there were 38 stations across five continents, the report said, citing a Chinese language news article, which also said the programme had received more than 2,100 calls from 88 countries or regions by June 14.
Chinese Restaurants and Supermarkets Among Station Addresses
The so-called stations appear to be local phone numbers that overseas Chinese people can call to access services such as document renewal or to report cases such as fraud to PSB officers in China….