According to the NGO Safeguard Defenders, the purpose of creating these departments is to “control, intimidate and even repatriate Chinese dissidents”.
An allegation by the Spanish NGO Safeguard Defenders that there are more than 100 Chinese “police stations” abroad aimed at controlling, intimidating and – in some cases – forcibly repatriating Chinese dissidents living far away has caused a sensation in Italy from their homeland.
According to this complaint, in Italy there are 11 centers of this kind, in cities such as Florence, Rome, Milan, Venice, but also in Sicily. According to the non-governmental organization, “officially, these departments present themselves as offices to handle administrative and bureaucratic matters, such as the renewal or issuance of driving licenses,” but in reality they “serve completely illegal purposes.”
Responding to a related question in parliament, the Italian Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piandendozzi, stated today that “this information is being checked and in the event of a violation of the law, we do not rule out the possibility of sanctions being imposed.”
The Italian minister, as the newspaper La Repubblica writes, added that although at present no substantial evidence has emerged, “no permission has been given for the operation of such ‘centers'”. He emphasized that “the police forces in cooperation with the intelligence services”, as well as himself personally, “are monitoring the situation with the utmost attention”.
RES-EMP
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