For years, many Chinese expatriates living in the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere have quietly feared the same thing: that even after leaving China, the Chinese government can still reach them.

Recent convictions in New York and London have brought those fears into the open. Investigators say China has developed an extensive global system of surveillance, intimidation, propaganda, and pressure aimed at critics of the Chinese Communist Party, dissidents, and even ordinary ethnic Chinese citizens living overseas.

At the center of the newest controversy was a small office tucked above a ramen restaurant in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Prosecutors say the office was not just a harmless community center. They say it was part of an overseas Chinese “police station” linked to Beijing’s global repression campaign.

The New York “Police Station” Case

Lu Jianwang, a 64 year old naturalized American citizen and president of the American Changle Association, was convicted in federal court of acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China. Prosecutors said he helped operate what they described as the first known Chinese overseas police station in the United States.

Authorities said Lu operated the station from an office building in Manhattan’s Chinatown after traveling to China in 2022 and allegedly meeting with Chinese officials. According to prosecutors, the office appeared harmless on the surface. Lu’s lawyers argued it was simply a place to help Chinese expatriates renew driver’s licenses and gather for social activities like mahjong and ping pong.

But prosecutors said the office had a darker purpose.

They accused Lu of helping Chinese authorities locate dissidents living in the United States, including pro democracy activist Xu Jie, who fled China in 2013. Federal investigators also alleged that Lu and others deleted communications with Chinese officials once they learned they were under FBI investigation.

Lu was convicted on charges including conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent, acting as an unregistered agent of China, and obstruction of justice. He faces up to 30 years in prison.

The Chinese government denied the allegations and claimed the centers merely helped overseas Chinese citizens with administrative matters. Beijing called the charges “fabricated” and accused the United States of trying to smear China’s image.

A Global Network

The New York office was not an isolated case.

Investigators and advocacy groups estimate that China has established at least 100 overseas “service stations” across 53 countries.

The issue has expanded far beyond the United States. In Britain, two men were recently convicted of spying on Hong Kong dissidents on behalf of China. One of them was a retired Hong Kong police officer. The other worked for the UK Border Force and allegedly used government databases to obtain information about targets. Prosecutors described the operation as “shadow policing.”

Messages presented during the British trial reportedly referred to dissidents as “cockroaches” and discussed plans to monitor activists living in the United Kingdom. One targeted activist, Finn Lau, later said: “For years, members of the Hong Kong diaspora in the United Kingdom have lived in fear. Today’s conviction confirms that fear was not paranoia. It was real.”

Experts say these operations are part of a much larger strategy known as transnational repression.

The United Front and China’s Influence Machine

Much of China’s overseas influence work is tied to the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front system, a sprawling political network designed to shape opinion, suppress dissent, and extend Beijing’s influence abroad.

The system is managed largely through the United Front Work Department, which oversees numerous front organizations around the world. According to researchers, the network includes cultural groups, hometown associations, student organizations, social clubs, business associations, and community leaders.

Lyle Morris, a senior fellow with the Asia Society Policy Institute, described China’s overseas influence efforts as a “vast bureaucracy and network” of people, resources, and funding.

Morris said Beijing views criticism of China as a direct threat to the country’s stability. “China sees ulterior motives when Western countries provide platforms for Chinese dissidents who harshly criticize the Chinese government,” he explained.

According to Morris, Chinese authorities use a variety of intimidation methods, including monitoring cell phones, recruiting informants, pressuring family members, and persuading dissidents to spy on one another.

That fear is particularly powerful because Chinese law effectively requires citizens to cooperate with Chinese intelligence agencies if asked. Many expatriates believe refusal could place relatives back home in danger.

Pressure Through Family and Finances

One of the most effective tools described in recent investigations is pressure on family members who remain inside China.

Reports describe relatives being questioned by police, threatened with job loss, denied schooling opportunities, or subjected to financial penalties. Some dissidents say family members have had pensions frozen or passports revoked.

Christopher Mung Siu-tat, a Hong Kong activist living in Britain, described how Hong Kong authorities sent him retroactive tax bills after he fled overseas. “I didn’t feel safe, even though I’m not based in Hong Kong any more,” he said. “The regime can reach me by their long arms wherever I am.”

Siu-tat also said his relatives in Hong Kong were questioned, his passport was canceled, and British counter terrorism police later contacted him to discuss security concerns.

Another dissident, former Chinese human rights lawyer Xiangui Fang, said Chinese authorities forced him to surrender his law license after he criticized the Chinese legal system abroad. “I had no choice,” Fang said.

A Growing Global Problem

China is not the only country accused of transnational repression. Freedom House says Russia, Vietnam, Turkey, Iran, and several other authoritarian governments also engage in similar practices.

But researchers say China operates the world’s largest and most sophisticated system.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists recently reported that China was the most prolific perpetrator of transnational repression in 2025. Cases included alleged pressure campaigns against Uyghurs, Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners, Hong Kong activists, and Taiwanese advocates around the world.

Uyghur activist Abdulhakim Idris said he was detained in Malaysia after what he believes was pressure from Beijing. “I feared for my life,” he said. Later, he warned: “China’s arm is reaching to Washington, to Europe, to Turkey, everywhere.”

For many Chinese expatriates, that fear has become a constant reality. Even thousands of miles from Beijing, many believe the Chinese state can still monitor them, pressure them, recruit them, or punish their families if they refuse to cooperate.

The recent convictions in New York and London suggest Western governments are beginning to push back. But experts warn the scale of the problem may be far larger than most people realize.