U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), along with eight other Republican senators, have joined forces to seek answers regarding alleged service centers in the U.S. that are linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In a letter addressed to the Department of Justice earlier this month, the senators are demanding information about what was previously known regarding these operations and what measures are being taken to protect national security.
"It was recently discovered that the Chinese Communist Party is operating intelligence service centers in cities across the U.S., including Charlotte," Tillis tweeted on July 12. "I’ve joined Sen. Ted Budd in demanding answers on behalf of North Carolinians."
"We write to express our grave concerns regarding reports of 'Overseas Chinese Service Centers' (OCSCs) operated by an intelligence service of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in conjunction with the PRC’s national police force," the letter to the DOJ says. "One such OCSC is reportedly housed at the Carolinas Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the other centers are collocated with nonprofits in San Francisco, California; Houston, Texas; Omaha, Nebraska; St. Paul, Minnesota; Salt Lake City, Utah; and St. Louis, Missouri."
The letter, directed to Attorney General Merrick Garland and composed on July 10, expresses numerous concerns regarding the centers. It includes a series of questions that require a response by July 31, among them: "What action, investigative or otherwise, is DOJ taking in relation to the seven aforementioned OCSCs? What actions will DOJ undertake to ensure that it has identified every OCSC or similar PRC facility in the U.S.? What action, investigative or otherwise, is DOJ taking in relation to the seven aforementioned OCSCs?"
The letter, signed by a total of 10 senators, includes those from North Carolina, Utah, Texas, Nebraska and Missouri, with two senators from each state. Among the signatories are Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE), according to The Carolina Journal.
"Further, the ongoing discovery of additional OCSCs raises the question of whether DOJ’s response sufficiently addresses the threat, particularly because OCSCs have openly operated for several years and their activities have been reportedly documented in Chinese state media and social media posts," the letter reads.
This is not the first time OCSCs have made headlines. Back in April, two men were apprehended for running an unreported police station in New York City, linked to the CCP. Allegedly, they used this facility to conduct surveillance on Chinese people living in America and harassed them through social media, according to AP News.
