Italian newspaper Il Foglio reported last week on a news release sent out to Chinese residents in Tuscany, informing them of a new “Fuzhou Overseas Police Service Station” at an address in the city of Prato shared with the Cultural Association of the Fujian Chinese Community in Italy.
Italian police told the paper they had not been notified of the station’s opening in March but said it was not a reason for concern because it “only deals with administrative practices and not public security.”
Il Foglio nonetheless reported there was evidence the station was engaged in “intelligence-gathering operations.”
There are more than two million police officers in China. They are overseen by the Ministry of Public Security (MSP) – part of the State Council, China’s top administrative body – and various provincial and county level public-security bureaus. The MSP, along with the Ministry of State Security, which handles intelligence and covert policing, are two of the most powerful bodies in the country, tasked with both maintaining law and order and public safety and protecting the ruling Communist Party.
That second implicit duty means Chinese police are highly politicized and are often tasked with controlling dissent. The police have broad powers to detain and punish people who step out of line, often imposing fines or house arrest arbitrarily. They work hand in hand with the country’s prosecutors, which means oversight is often lacking; allegations of abuse by police are common, particularly in rural areas.
= new reply since forum marked as read
