New Legislation Would Combat CCP’s Secret Police In The U.S.

Quanzhong An, a Chinese citizen and U.S. green card holder, was recently sentenced to 20 months in prison for acting on behalf of the Chinese government to intimidate individuals living in the U.S. This case highlights the urgent need for strong measures to protect individual freedoms and uphold national sovereignty against the covert policing tactics employed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Fortunately, congressional Republicans have introduced legislation to address this issue.

Since 2014, the Chinese Communist Party has expanded its reach overseas, targeting Chinese nationals regardless of their residence or immigration status. This initiative includes programs like “Operation Fox Hunt” and “Operation Skynet,” where China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS) sends undercover police to foreign countries to forcibly repatriate individuals labeled as “criminals” by any means necessary.

According to one report, to compel these individuals to return, Chinese authorities “subject their relatives in China to harassment, jail, torture and other mistreatment, sometimes recording hostage-like videos to send to the United States. In countries like Vietnam and Australia, Chinese agents have simply abducted their prey.”

Additionally, the Spain-based NGO Safeguard Defenders has revealed alarming evidence that China’s notorious MPS has established over 100 “Overseas Police Stations” in more than 50 countries, including the United States. While these stations claim to offer essential services, such as legal aid for Chinese expatriate communities, their actual purpose is far more insidious: to monitor, intimidate, and silence overseas Chinese individuals, while aiding China’s efforts to capture alleged fugitives globally.

These illicit policing activities raise serious concerns. The CCP uses a broad definition of “criminals,” often targeting political dissenters and threatening their right to free expression through surveillance and harassment. Additionally, the forced repatriation of individuals to China without due process is a clear violation of human rights. Alarmingly, many nations were initially unaware of these covert operations, highlighting the CCP’s troubling disregard for national sovereignty.

The U.S. government has taken some actions to address China’s illegal policing activities in the U.S.

Three individuals — including American private investigator Michael McMahon and two Chinese citizens residing in the United States — were arrested in 2020 and later convicted in 2023 of crimes related to their pressuring a Chinese expatriate living in New Jersey to return to China. The defense attorneys for the three men argued that the U.S. government should have increased public awareness regarding Beijing’s deceptive tactics, as their clients believed they were assisting a company or an individual in collecting debts, unaware that the Chinese government was involved.

In April 2023, the Department of Justice arrested New York City residents Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping, charging them with opening and operating a Chinese police station in lower Manhattan, New York. Chen pleaded guilty in 2024, while Lu is still awaiting trial.

Additionally, the DOJ indicted 40 officers of China’s MPS and two members of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), alleging that they harassed Chinese nationals living in the U.S. who are critical of the CCP. These Chinese officers have likely acted under the directive of the United Front Work Department (UFWD), a semi-secret organization within the CCP responsible for disseminating party propaganda and managing influence campaigns both domestically and internationally.

The DOJ emphasized that “these cases demonstrate the lengths the PRC government will go to silence and harass U.S. persons who exercise their fundamental rights to speak out against PRC oppression. … These actions violate our laws and are an affront to our democratic values and basic human rights.”

Yet during President Joe Biden’s multiple meetings with General Secretary Xi Jinping, Biden never demanded that China stop its illegal policing on U.S. soil.  Now, congressional Republicans seek to end China’s illegal policing in the U.S. through legislation.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., reintroduced the Expel Illegal Chinese Police Act in January this year (he first introduced the legislation in 2024), stating, “No foreign government has the right to operate secret police stations on American soil. The Chinese Communist Party’s actions undermine international norms and human rights by circumventing legal extradition processes and engaging in intimidation tactics. This legislation sends a clear message: the United States will never tolerate illegal operations that violate our sovereignty and intimidate individuals living within our borders.”

On March 14, Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, introduced a companion bill to Sen. Cotton’s in the House, declaring that “the Chinese Communist Party should have never been able to operate police stations in the U.S. to surveil American citizens and harass Chinese citizens who have fled the Communist regime. … Senator Tom Cotton and I are working to end these illegal intimidation tactics that undermine U.S. sovereignty and finally hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for such egregious violations.”

The Expel Illegal Chinese Police Act introduced by Cotton and Hinson in both chambers represents a vital measure that could profoundly affect the operations of Chinese police stations in the United States. With its enactment, those involved in the establishment and management of these stations will face strict “financial sanctions, visa restrictions, and asset freezes.” This legislation not only broadens the legal framework for identifying and prosecuting individuals engaged in these unlawful activities but also stiffens penalties for anyone acting under the direction of the United Front Work Department.

Passing this legislation is crucial for safeguarding U.S. sovereignty and countering the Chinese Communist Party’s encroachment and influence efforts. It is essential for congressional Democrats to unite with their Republican counterparts in support of this bill, allowing President Trump to sign it into law and take a strong stance against these violations.