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AMNA NAWAZ: The FBI arrested
two Chinese nationals in New
York last month, accusing

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them of running a secret
police station to watch
and intimidate Chinese
dissidents living overseas.

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There are more than
100 of these stations

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around the world that
researchers say Beijing
uses to silence its critics.

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Nick Schifrin and producer
Teresa Cebrian Aranda reports.

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NICK SCHIFRIN: Nearly 6,000
miles from Beijing, on a
quiet street in Madrid,

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a nondescript office
claims to offer assistance
for Chinese citizens.

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But the reality is more
shadowy. A Chinese dissident
leads us to what he calls the

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source of Chinese repression
that begins with an invitation.

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YUAN LEE, Chinese Dissident
in Madrid (through
translator): Here,

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it says we should be careful
with telecommunications fraud,

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that if you receive a suspicious
message, you should get in
touch with the Chinese Embassy.

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NICK SCHIFRIN: But
Yuan Lee says the only
suspicious messages came

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from Chinese authorities and
were sent in order to silence.

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YUAN LEE (through translator):
I am sure they did a systemic

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campaign against me led by these
Chinese associations. And now we

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know there are secret
police stations hidden
inside Chinese associations.

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NICK SCHIFRIN: When
the pandemic began, he
created a YouTube channel

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to expose what he calls
the truth about the
Chinese Communist Party.

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And he appears on far
right Spanish TV, what
some call Spanish FOX News.

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YUAN LEE (through translator):
I had a rebel opinion,
because I think everyone is

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a victim of Chinese
communism. We have to hold
the Chinese Communist Party
accountable. It withheld

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information by censoring doctors
who blew the whistle on COVID
and threw journalists in jail.

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NICK SCHIFRIN: In response to
that criticism, he says these
posters circulated on Chinese

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social media calling for
him to -- quote -- "drink
tea," that is, submit to
interrogation by Chinese

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officials. He says he received
death threats and his family
back in China was intimidated.

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YUAN LEE (through
translator): My sister
called and asked, "Brother,

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what did you do? Because
the police came to our house
with many police vans. They

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came in and asked: 'Where's Yuan
Lee? When is he coming back?'"

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My mom was also arrested.
She spent three days in jail.

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NICK SCHIFRIN: This
association is in a residential
neighborhood and your Madrid's

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Chinatown. It was closed
when we filmed, but, inside,
a photo the Chinese county

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Chinese county Qingtian,
which is in the office's
name, the General Qingtian
Association in Spain.

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International researchers say,
in 2021, the association worked
with Chinese mainland police

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to question a Chinese
entrepreneur, as seen
in this video posted by
Chinese officials. Beijing

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says he was -- quote --
"persuaded" to return to
China to face charges.

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YUAN LEE (through translator):
There are many dissidents in
Madrid. And many of them ask me,

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what can we do to protect
ourselves, for instance, in
the case of an extradition?
Because this could

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happen to any of us. The
Chinese Communist Party controls
all Chinese associations.

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NICK SCHIFRIN: The
association Web site says its

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police stations -- quote
-- "protect the rights and
interests of overseas Chinese."

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And Chinese state Qingtian
launched police stations in
11 countries, including Spain.

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LAURA HARTH, Safeguard
Defenders: Beijing
is quite explicit in
what its attempts are

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when it conducts its
transnational policing or
transnational repression
activities. It wants

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to control the overseas
communities, but, to
a larger extent, also,
it wants to control the

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narrative worldwide about the
Chinese Communist Party, about
the People's Republic of China.

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NICK SCHIFRIN: Laura Harth
is the campaign director
with Safeguard Defenders,

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the human rights group
that first revealed
Beijing's covert police

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stations using open-source
Chinese documents. They
found more than 100

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Chinese police outposts in 53
countries set up by authorities
from four Chinese regions.

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LAURA HARTH: These are stations,

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centers that have not been
declared to the host governments
where these are operating.

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NICK SCHIFRIN: And, as far as
you can tell, how extensive,

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how expansive is this
effort across the globe?

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LAURA HARTH: Really, these
stations are the tip of the
iceberg of what is a massive,

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massive campaign to
really crack down on
dissent around the world.

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NICK SCHIFRIN: Xi Jinping
has targeted critics both
inside China and overseas.

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He's portrayed his
efforts as a way to fight
crime and corruption.

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HU XIJIN, Former Editor
in Chief, Global Times:
The so-called human

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rights organization
Safeguard Defenders...

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NICK SCHIFRIN: Beijing's
advocates argue they
have every right to
target Chinese overseas.

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Hu Xijin is the former
editor in chief of the
Communist Party-aligned
tabloid Global Times.

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HU XIJIN: Most countries have
supported and cooperated with
China's pursuit of fugitives.

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The accusation made by
Safeguard Defenders is
an old-fashioned way

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by demonizing Thailand
by calling criminals
fleeing overseas as
political dissidents.

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BREON PEACE, United States
Attorney For Eastern District
of New York: We cannot

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and will not tolerate
the Chinese government's
persecution.

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NICK SCHIFRIN: But now
countries are exposing
Chinese tactics. Last month,

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the United States
attorney for New York's
Eastern District revealed

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federal charges that
accused Lu Jianwang and Chen
Jinping of running a police

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station in New York's Chinatown
on behalf of China's Ministry
of Public Security, or MPS.

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BREON PEACE: The MPS officers
who have been charged today are
not focused on preventing crime.

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Rather, the complaints charge
these MPS officers with
engaging in transnational
repression schemes.

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JIE LIJIAN, Chinese Dissident
(through translator): When
I arrived in the United

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States. I thought that
there would be fewer
threats, but it feels like

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the Chinese Communist Party is
everywhere in this country. And
the threats are very severe.

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NICK SCHIFRIN: Jie Lijian is a
prominent Chinese pro-democracy
activist living in Los Angeles,

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where Safeguard Defenders
found another police station.

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He criticizes Chinese human
rights abuses and the silencing
of Chinese doctors who

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blew the whistle on COVID.
He fled China in 2018 after
being arrested and he says

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tortured in a psychiatric
hospital for advocating
for better labor rights.

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He says, in California, Chinese
agents record his protests,

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and worse. He says he's
been attacked five times
and was once stabbed.

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JIE LIJIAN (through translator):
In my home, my windows have
been destroyed. These threats

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and harassment have brought me
to a dark place. As victims,
we experience tremendous

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psychological pressure and
a deep sense of oppression
that is difficult to express.

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They work

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very efficiently. For example,
if we hold protests, even
before they end, Chinese

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agents will have visited some
of their homes and threatened
and intimidated their families.

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NICK SCHIFRIN: Senior
FBI officials believe the

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same actors who physically
intimidate also intimidate
online. On Twitter,

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Jie received death threats.
This message says: "I will
shoot and kill Jie Lijian."

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Social media researchers
say Beijing uses bots to
target Chinese critics

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with thousands of messages. Last
year, Google removed more than

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50,000 accounts made
by a Chinese influence
operation. Researchers

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believe the same operation
imitated Safeguard Defenders to
try and conceal their reports.

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LAURA HARTH: The Chinese
authorities are not
completely stupid. They
will prefer to do as

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much of this as possible
through online means, because
that does kind of insulate

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those Chinese actors, agents, if
you will, from accountability.

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NICK SCHIFRIN: But activists
including Yuan Lee say their
messages won't be obscured. He

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says he hopes to build his
own association that protects,
not targets, dissidents.

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YUAN LEE (through translator): I
can no longer take a step back.

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This is my face. And I hope
this personal sacrifice that
I made will be worth it.

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NICK SCHIFRIN: But, even
as countries crack down,
activists know that
Beijing is still watching.

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For the "PBS NewsHour,"
I'm Nick Schifrin.