IRELAND: The Irish government has ordered the closure of a Chinese "police station" in the city center

Dublin: The Irish government has ordered the closure of a Chinese "police station" in the city center following pressure from a human rights group. The Fuzhou Police Service Overseas Station opened earlier this year and is now housed in an office building on Capel Street, which has shared information with other Chinese organizations.

Photo: HK

Chinese officials said the station offered services including driver's license renewals to Chinese nationals in Ireland. However, human rights group Safeguard Defenders said in a report in September that the stations have forced 230,000 migrants to return to China, sometimes facing criminal charges.

The report also said that Chinese actions around the world would "avoid official police and judicial cooperation, violate international law, and violate the territorial integrity of third countries involved in establishing parallel police systems using illegal methods." The Chinese Embassy in Dublin responded that no wrongdoing had been done.

The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday that no Chinese authority had sought permission to set up a "police station". The department said it had raised the matter with Chinese authorities and asked them to "close and cease operations" at the Capel Street police station. The Chinese government has also announced that it has accepted this demand.

The Chinese government has also been accused of setting up similar "police stations" in the Netherlands. Figures also indicate that at least two undeclared "police stations" were allegedly set up in the Netherlands. Dutch media found evidence that foreign service stations promising to provide diplomatic services were being used to silence Chinese dissidents in Europe. A Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesman said the existence of unofficial police outposts was illegal. However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry rejected the Dutch allegations.