It makes sense. If you’re the totalitarian government of China and you want to harass and abuse Chinese nationals living overseas the way you harass and abuse people inside of China, why not collaborate with other Chinese nationals who, like you, specialize in violating rights and who have made their homes in the same country as the expatriates that you want to target?
As the regime of President Xi Jinping expands its international power, it has intensified its alliance with Chinese organized crime overseas. The Italian investigation and other cases in Europe show the underworld’s front-line role in a campaign to infiltrate the West, amass wealth and influence, and control diaspora communities as if they were colonies of Beijing’s police state. . . .
The partnership appears to mix geopolitics and corruption for mutual benefit. Gangsters help monitor and intimidate immigrant communities for the regime in Beijing, sometimes as leaders of cultural associations that are key players in China’s political influence operations and long-distance repression, Western security officials say. ProPublica has learned that suspected underworld figures in Italy and Spain took part in launching several of the secret Chinese police stations that caused an uproar when their existence became public last year.
The above is excerpted from a lengthy July 2023 ProPublica report by Sebastian Rotella, “Outlaw Alliance: How China and Chinese Mafias Overseas Protect Each Other’s Interests.” ProPublica has also reported on how China has sent operatives to foreign lands to hunt fugitives from Chinese injustice and to spy on and intimidate Chinese students.
China allows mobsters who do its dirty work to freely engage in their criminal activities. U.S. and European authorities say that Chinese officials won’t cooperate with their investigations of Chinese organized crime. Chinese criminals based in Europe can travel in and out of China at will, even if officially “wanted” by the Chinese government for their crimes.
Chinese mobsters in the United States also do China’s bidding. “U.S. law enforcement has tracked interactions between Chinese government operatives and Chinese American mobsters who harass dissidents, engage in political interference and move offshore funds for the Communist Party elite, U.S. national security officials say.”
