Mystery over ‘Chinese police car’ spotted in Melbourne amid ‘Beijing harassment’ fears towards expats
- Melbourne car fitted with Chinese Police markings
- It comes amid reports of secret Chinese police stations
A mysterious car with the markings of a Chinese police vehicle has been spotted in Melbourne, fueling fears of Chinese Communist Party intimidation tactics.
It comes after reports of undercover Chinese police stations being set up in major cities around the world, including London, Glasgow, New York and Toronto.
The 2015 Victoria registered silver Nissan Maxima is fitted with Chinese police decals and text on the rear passenger door claims it is ‘Special Police’.
The silver 2015 Nissan Maxima sedan (pictured) is fitted with Chinese police decals and text on the rear passenger door claims it is ‘Special Police’
The vehicle in Melbourne has the same characteristics as real police cars like this one here in Hangzhou, China
Oddly enough, the vehicle also has a plush toy and box of tissues on the dash, and what appears to be a disabled parking pass hanging from the rearview mirror.
The car was spotted in Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs over the weekend and pictures of it were posted on social media after details of it were provided to police.
Victoria Police told Daily Mail Australia they needed more information about the vehicle’s location to comment.
Similar counterfeit Chinese police cars were spotted three years ago in Adelaide and Perth during the Hong Kong protests, sparking outrage from pro-democracy campaigners.
Western Australia Police in 2019 tracked down the owner of one of the fake police cars whose owner said they had bought the decals online as a joke.
“There are people who feel intimidated by this,” a pro-democracy rally organizer said at the time.
“I find it highly inappropriate, especially if you pretend to represent a foreign law enforcement unit in a Western country.”
Activists fear the new police-marked vehicle is the latest escalation in efforts by Chinese President Xi Jinping to intimidate Chinese migrants overseas.
There are said to be more than 100 secret police stations operating in 53 countries with reported dark locations in the UK, Canada, US and Australia, among others.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government was “deeply concerned” by the allegations.
“We are working to ensure that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are following up on this and that our intelligence systems are taking this seriously,” he said last month.
Two of the secret police stations are said to be in Australia, ostensibly set up to “help Chinese emigrants” but instead “harass, threaten, intimidate and force targets to return to China for prosecution,” says pressure group Safeguard Defenders.
Western Australia Police tracked down the owner of one of the fake police cars (pictured) in 2019, whose owner said they had bought the decals online as a joke
Activists fear the new police-marked vehicle is the latest escalation in efforts by Chinese President Xi Jinping to intimidate Chinese migrants abroad.
A report released in December said China’s Wenzhou police had already set up a police “service station” in Sydney.
Nantong police are also said to be based somewhere in Australia in an unknown location, but Melbourne would be an obvious second location.
Anti-CCP campaigner Drew Pavlou – who has been repeatedly arrested for his protests against the Chinese government – denounced the latest fake police car tactics.
“It’s illegal to pose as a police officer in Australia, but somehow it’s fine to pose as a foreign police officer in Australia,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
“We know that the CCP is subjecting members of the Chinese, Tibetan, Hong Kong and Uyghur diaspora in Australia to harassment, and we know that the Iranian regime has targeted protesters here as well.
“We need legislation to make it illegal to impersonate a foreign police force in Australia.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Chinese embassy for comment.