Italy recently expelled eight Chinese nationals accused of monitoring and intimidating Chinese dissidents living in the country, reigniting public debate over China’s use of overseas “police stations” to extend its repression networks across multiple countries.
The eight individuals were removed on March 5, following a lengthy investigation by Italy’s DIGOS unit and Turin prosecutors. Four left voluntarily, three were immediately deported, and one woman remains detained after applying for asylum. The primary target of their surveillance was a prominent online activist known as “Teacher Li” — whose account “Teacher Li is Not Your Teacher” regularly exposes human rights abuses by the Chinese Communist Party. Li stated that he and his team had faced years of transnational harassment and intimidation, and welcomed Italy’s action as a defense of democratic principles and the rule of law.
The case also drew attention to a separate cyberattack on Italy’s Interior Ministry in February, in which hackers attempted to access information on Chinese dissidents and Italian officials investigating Chinese organizations. A prior attack between 2024 and 2025 allegedly resulted in the theft of data on approximately 5,000 Italian police officers holding sensitive positions.
The phenomenon is not limited to Italy. In France, the rights group Safeguard Defenders previously identified at least four clandestine Chinese police stations in the greater Paris area, part of a global network of over 100 such outposts spanning 53 countries. French authorities confirmed the closure of nine such stations and issued expulsion orders against at least two individuals linked to their operation.
These stations, ostensibly offering administrative assistance to overseas Chinese communities, are widely reported to be used for pressuring dissidents and coercing individuals into returning to China.
Source: Radio France International, March 10, 2026
https://rfi.my/CVxq