Beijing Operates Cloud-Based Police ‘Contact Point’ in Australia: Memo

Authorities panned for not taking action

Chinese police officers wear protective masks at Beijing Station in Beijing, China on Jan. 22, 2020. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

The regime in Beijing has been using cloud-based technology to maintain a working police presence in Australia, an internal document has revealed.

The contact point in Australia, which was set up in May 2022 in cooperation with the police department of Hai'an in China’s Nantong City, is still operating using cloud system technology with no fixed office address, according to an official internal document obtained by Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC).

The police station is among more than 100 Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-operated illegal police outposts in 53 countries—known as “contact points” or “service centres”—that were publicized in 2022 by Safeguard Defenders, a Spain-based human rights NGO.

The cloud system, which combines Chinese technology-giant Tencent’s cloud meeting platform and social media app WeChat, which is currently under increasing international scrutiny, allows Chinese in Australia to contact local police in China.

The Hai’an contact point is affiliated with the county-level city’s All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese that’s part of the United Front Work Department, described by some as a critical element of the CCP’s strategy to exert influence on foreign countries and overseas Chinese.

The document said the contact point is part of a “tightly organized network” of Chinese security services and is a first for the county-level overseas Chinese federations of Jiangsu Province and even the whole country.

A spokeswoman for Hai’an police confirmed to ABC that the cloud system at the contact point in Australia is operational.

She added that there had previously been a physical contact point in Rydalmere, a Western suburb of Sydney, linked to the Nantong United Front Work Department and registered under the Australia Nantong Association. The point was set up in 2016 before being closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

2 Police Contact Points in Australia

The Hai’an contact point is the second Chinese police station to be revealed in Australia, following one in Sydney that was established in 2018 by the police of Wenzhou City, and disclosed in October 2022.

Overseas Chinese police “Service Stations,” or “110 Overseas,” are found in dozens of countries across five continents. Courtesy of Safeguarddefenders

Beijing has denied the existence of its overseas police presence.

“China does not have any so-called overseas ‘police stations’ at all, and the relevant service platforms of overseas Chinese organisations are engaged in activities such as assisting Chinese citizens who are inconvenienced in returning to their home country,” the Chinese Embassy in Canberra said in a statement.

“We urge the relevant parties to stop spreading false information and smearing China.”

However, some of the functions the office has said it will perform, such as extending Chinese driver’s licenses and processing official documents, are usually done by Chinese consulates or embassies.

According to Safeguard Defender’s report, the overseas Chinese police stations have a “more sinister goal” of “collaborating with Chinese police in carrying out policing operations on foreign soil.”

They can be used by the communist regime to “harass, threaten, intimidate, and force targets to return to China for persecution.” From April 2021 to July 2022, an estimated 230,000 overseas Chinese nationals have been “persuaded to return” to China to face criminal charges.

Authorities Remain Unconcerned

While a number of Western democracies, including the United States, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands, have responded by closing the Chinese police stations in their jurisdictions, Australia has been slow in tackling foreign interference.

During a Senate estimates hearing in late 2022, Ian McCartney, deputy commissioner of the Australian Federal Police (AFP), said he had no concerns about the Sydney contact point.

“I don’t believe it’s active,” he told the committee.

Then-AFP Assistant Commissioner Ian McCartney (R) and New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing addressed the media on July 2, 2019. Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

The deputy commissioner further confirmed his confidence in a Senate estimate hearing on May 25.

“My previous answer should give you confidence,” Mr. McCartney replied to Sen. James Paterson about the issue. “We don’t have that situation in Australia.”

An AFP spokesperson said the department and other Australian agencies had been asked questions previously about whether there are concerns about Chinese police operations in Australia.

“The AFP has no concerns about this matter. This position remains unchanged,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email on Aug. 8.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, consistent with long-standing practice, said the agency doesn’t comment on intelligence, investigations, or operations

Defense Expert on Australia’s Response

The non-action of Australian authorities has triggered criticism from some.

“There is no good reason for Australian government agencies to not investigate and take action to remove illegal, undeclared Chinese Police operations and presence in Australia,” Michael Shoebridge, director and CEO of Strategic Analysis Australia, told The Epoch Times.

“A partial explanation may be fear of reversing the perceived ‘thaw’ in the diplomatic relationship, which so far has produced no tangible benefit beyond meetings.”

A balloon is held at a press conference and rally in front of the America ChangLe Association, highlighting Beijing's transnational repression in New York City on Feb. 25, 2023. A now-closed overseas Chinese police station had been located inside the building. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

However, former Liberal Party Sen. Eric Abetz said the lack of publicity doesn’t necessarily mean that Australia’s police authorities aren’t awake to the “very real threat” posed by these unwanted facilities and those unacceptable practices.

“It is to be hoped that Australian authorities are closely monitoring the CCP’s police stations in Australia,” he told The Epoch Times in an email.

“The more proactive approach by Canadian and United States authorities in taking action against such facilities is to be applauded and followed by Australian authorities.

“The lack of action is not only a matter of serious concern to Australia’s security but also to the many thousands of Australians who have come from China. Our new Chinese Australians are entitled to be fully protected from such facilities and activities.”

The former senator also warned about the strong pro-Beijing sentiment within Australia amid the trade relations between the two countries.

Sen. Eric Abetz at Parliament House in Canberra on March 25, 2021. Sam Mooy/Getty Images

“As the years have gone by, it has become very clear that the dictatorship, rather than embarking on a programme of reform, is digging in even deeper to its dictatorial and oppressive antecedents,” Mr. Abetz said.

“Many in authority have come to realise this unfortunate reality, whereas it seems some still hold to the old thinking, which is now very dangerous.

“As new assessments are made, and the behaviours of the regime are reassessed, it is irresponsible to continue as though it’s business as usual. The belligerent bellowing from the Beijing representatives in Canberra tells all that the relationship is built on characteristics other than friendship and desire for mutual benefit.”