The Chinese government operates around 100 secret police outposts in other countries around the world. We now know last fall, the FBI raided one of those outposts in New York City.

According to reporting from the New York Times, the FBI raided a third floor office in a six-story building in New York’s Chinatown. The office was under investigation for conducting police operations without jurisdiction or diplomatic approval.

China is suspected of operating similar outposts in Japan, Taiwan, Ireland, Canada, France and several other nations.

It’s not unheard of for police officers to operate in foreign countries, but they usually declare themselves to the foreign government and work in cooperation with local authorities. China not doing so makes these suspected Chinese police outposts all the more concerning.

Western officials and Chinese dissidents living abroad said the Chinese Communist Party is using the outposts to keep tabs on Chinese nationals. Chinese state-run media even touts the effectiveness of such outposts, calling them overseas police service centers. Now deleted Chinese reports seemed to celebrate that the outposts were collecting intelligence and solving crimes without collaborating with local officials.

However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the outposts are staffed with volunteers. Instead of conducting clandestine operations, the Foreign Ministry said the outposts are there to serve administrative functions, such as helping Chinese nationals do things like renew their driver’s licenses. The Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C., said the sites are not police stations, and there is “no need to make people nervous about this.”

In 2020, FBI Director Christopher Wray said it’s outrageous that China thinks it can come to the U.S. and conduct illegal police operations. This past October, federal authorities in New York charged seven people with harassing a Chinese national living in the U.S. Authorities said the seven were charged in connection to Operation Fox Hunt, which is an illegal effort by China to locate and repatriate Chinese dissidents.