FBI raids Manhattan building used as secret Chinese POLICE STATION used by illegal ‘cops’

FBI agents raided a Manhattan building in the fall of 2022 that was allegedly used as a secret Chinese police station staffing “illegal cops” solving crimes.

The raid occurred at the headquarters of the American Changle Association, a nonprofit organization that helps Chinese citizens living in New York. The group’s former chairman was Lu Jianshun, who in 2021 donated $4,000 to Eric Adams’ mayoral campaign, reports The New York Times.

The police station was located on the third floor of the organization’s building. The police unit is linked to a unit code called 110 Overseas, based in the Chinese province of Fujian.

The US Attorney’s Office, which was involved in the raid with the FBI, told DailyMail.com, ‘No comment’, when asked to authenticate the Times story.

In October, DailyMail.com visited the office that sits on top of a ramen shop and next door to an acupuncturist where a receptionist was shocked to hear it was a secret police station. It was closed and locals said it was rarely open.

The raid occurred at the headquarters of the American Changle Association, a nonprofit organization that helps Chinese interests in New York. The group’s former chairman was Lu Jianshun, who donated $4,000 to Eric Adams’ mayoral campaign.

The public was alerted to the existence of Chinese secret police stations thanks to a report by the European human rights organization Safeguard Defenders, which published an investigative study in September detailing more than 100 secret Chinese police facilities around the world.

The fall 2022 raid is the first known raid by law enforcement on a secret police station in the US. According to Safeguard Defenders, there are two secret Chinese police stations in New York, one in Los Angeles and one in Los Angeles. another at an undisclosed location.

The Times report notes that it is unclear whether Lu Jianshun, who also goes by Jimmy Lu, is a target for the feds.

The article does not mention any arrests in the wake of the raid, but says that office materials were seized.

In October 2022, Mayor Eric Adams appeared at a gala hosted by the American Changle Association, reports the New York Post. Just a few months earlier, the IRS withdrew the group’s tax-exempt status.

The Times article adds that reports in China have described the operations as “overseas police service centers” that help solve crimes in their designated countries without collaborating with local officials.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, pictured here in Albany on January 10, appeared at an American Changle Association gala in October.

Workers at the American Changle Association pictured outside their offices last year

In a statement on the Times story, the Chinese embassy in Washington DC said: ‘They are not police from China. There’s no need to make people nervous about this.

In response to earlier reports about secret police stations, Chinese embassies and consulates have downplayed their existence, saying the offices simply help citizens renew documents such as driver’s licenses.

Around the same time as the raid, government officials ordered the closure of a secret Chinese police station in Ireland, while authorities in the Netherlands began investigating similar operations.

Many of the stations are open in Western Europe, with only four in North America.

Chinese President Xi Jingping, pictured on Jan. 9, China’s embassy in Washington acknowledged the existence of volunteer-run sites in the United States, but said they were not “police stations” or “police service centers.” ‘.

In November, Beijing rejected claims it was operating “police stations” on US soil, calling the sites run by volunteers, after the FBI director said the same month he was “very concerned” about unauthorized stations. which have been linked to the influence of Beijing. operations.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a 2022 Senate hearing that it was “outrageous” for the Chinese government to attempt to establish a police presence in the United States, saying it “violates sovereignty and circumvents standard judicial cooperation processes.” and police”.

At the time, the Chinese Embassy in Washington acknowledged the existence of volunteer-run sites in the United States, but said they were not “police stations” or “police service centers.”

Republicans in the US Congress, including Rep. Jim Banks, have requested answers from the Biden administration about the operations of the sites.

Rights activists say the sites are an extension of Beijing’s efforts to pressure some Chinese citizens or their relatives abroad to return to China to face criminal charges, linking them to United Front Work Department activities. of China, a body of the Chinese Communist Party tasked with spreading its influence and propaganda abroad.

Mark Clifford, chairman of the Hong Kong Committee for Freedom Foundation, said those stations had to be “stopped in their tracks.”

“By allowing the CCP to operate these kinds of institutions in their countries, international governments are complicit in Beijing’s actions,” Clifford said.

According to Safeguard Defenders, there are 102 police stations abroad in 53 countries, including 11 in Italy, the highest number of any foreign nation.

Chinese authorities have characterized the facilities as volunteer-run centers that help Chinese citizens renew documents and offer other services that have been disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic.