Report identifies Chinese network in 91 countries
A new study maps 1,247 official contact points for Chinese diaspora organisations.
Listen to this article
There is no audio version yet. Request one and an AI voice will read the article aloud.
Read by an AI voice.
A network of Chinese party and government contact points abroad is much larger and more formally organised than previously known, according to human rights organisation Safeguard Defenders. The report identifies 1,247 designated contact points in at least 91 countries.
Safeguard Defenders published the report A Formula for Repression. The organisation examined only public documents from Chinese party and government bodies. According to the researchers, these show that Chinese authorities use contact points in overseas communities to organise surveillance, influence, and cooperation with police and the judiciary.
According to the report, the contact points are often linked to associations of Chinese people from the same place or province in China. Such organisations can formally be designated as liaison points for Chinese police, prosecutors or local governments, the report says. This shifts the picture from isolated, so-called overseas police stations to a broader structure in which diaspora organisations become part of an administrative network.
Safeguard Defenders says the Chinese government has rapidly expanded this system since 2022. The organisation describes a twelvefold increase in the number of registered contact points since its earlier investigation into overseas police stations. The report provides no evidence that every contact point is actively used for intimidation or espionage; the study’s central finding is that Chinese institutions themselves have made the links public.
According to the researchers, the new approach is less visible than the police stations that attracted international attention several years ago. The report says contacts run through cultural associations, trade organisations and local diaspora organisations. In some cases, police and judicial contacts from China are linked to such associations. This makes it harder to establish where service provision ends and political control begins.
The report was presented during a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China in The Hague. This makes the findings relevant to European governments, partly because the Netherlands previously investigated Chinese police stations on its own territory. However, the new study does not say that all 1,247 points are illegal or that criminal offences have been committed everywhere.
It is not known whether the Chinese government has substantively responded to the new report. Earlier Chinese statements on overseas police stations stressed that such locations provide administrative services to Chinese citizens. The report does not make clear for every contact point which of the registered points actually carry out assignments on behalf of Chinese security services and which mainly have administrative or social functions.
Also show the region and a close-up
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Safeguard Defenders published a report on 6 November 2026 about Chinese contact points in overseas diaspora organisations.
- The report counts 1,247 formally designated contact points in at least 91 countries.
- The study is based on public documents from Chinese party and government bodies.
- The report does not establish that every contact point is illegal or used for intimidation.
Left
Arguments The emphasis is on protecting diasporas, dissidents and human rights. European governments should actively investigate foreign political control and protect associations from pressure.
Values Equal rights, individual freedom and protection from state coercion beyond one’s own borders.
Consequences Greater oversight and legal protection can make communities safer, but may also complicate legitimate cultural cooperation.
Centre
Arguments The institutional approach is to carefully distinguish between normal consular or social services and activities that fall under foreign influence or repression.
Values The rule of law, verifiability and proportionality.
Consequences Investigations of individual organisations and transparency rules offer more guidance than a general ban, but require time and capacity.
Right
Arguments The state should impose strict limits on foreign interference and potential security risks, especially when police or party structures become involved in Dutch communities.
Values National sovereignty, public order and the protection of citizens.
Consequences Stricter registration and enforcement rules can reduce risks, but must not degenerate into suspicion of entire population groups.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The main claim and the figures can be traced to Safeguard Defenders’ report and an independent discussion of it. The text makes clear that the report does not prove criminality or active misuse of every individual contact point.
- confirmed Safeguard Defenders identifies 1,247 contact points in at least 91 countries. — This appears in the report’s summary and in the independent discussion. source
- confirmed The report is based on public documents from Chinese party and government bodies. — The report page states that the study uses only open-source evidence from the Chinese party-state. source
- confirmed The contact network is broader than the overseas police stations discussed previously. — The report describes a network of party, police and judicial contacts operating through diaspora organisations. source
- uncertain The Chinese government has not provided a substantive response in the sources consulted. — This is a review of the sources consulted, not proof that no response exists anywhere. source
Editor's note
The figures come from a human rights organisation’s report based on public Chinese documents. The existence of the contact points is documented; their actual use and any criminality have not been established for each location.Sources
- A Formula for Repression — Safeguard Defenders
- China’s Overseas Police Network Expanded After Shutdown Claims, Report Says — The Bureau
- Safeguard Defenders brengt Chinees wereldwijd netwerk in kaart — Voice of America Chinese
More on this in Dutch media
- De Telegraaf — „china surveillance”
- de Volkskrant — „china surveillance”
- NOS — „china surveillance”