The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) released a staff research report on Dec. 13 describing how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses repressive tactics to silence its critics, both domestically and around the world. The report was authored by USCC Policy Fellow Andrew Hartnett, Policy Analyst Nicole Morgret, and Senior Policy Analyst Rachael Burton.
The report states that the CCP eliminates perceived threats to its stability by harassing and intimidating its opposition. According to a copy of the report, these CCP tactics impact U.S. national security in three main ways. First, the CCP's "transnational law enforcement efforts" violate the sovereignty of other nations. A U.S. Department of Justice complaint unsealed earlier this year revealed that Beijing established an “illegal overseas police station” in New York City in early 2022. Officials in Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands have also shut down similar operations.
Second, the CCP violates the rights of people living in other countries by harassing, surveilling, and attempting to subject them to Chinese law. The report points to Chinese Students and Scholars Associations (CSSAs) on university campuses as an example of how Beijing silences students and prevents discussions of topics that could reveal its human rights abuses.
Third, the report states that the Chinese government uses extradition treaties and its membership in multilateral law enforcement platforms to engage in repressive tactics around the world. According to the report, Beijing has leveraged its membership in the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) to try to repatriate dissidents living outside of China.
The report found that General Secretary Xi Jinping has expanded Beijing's use of tools of transnational repression since he took office in 2013. In 2014, the CCP launched Operation Fox Hunt, which attempts to repatriate Chinese citizens living abroad to Mainland China for prosecution. In 2015, the CCP launched Sky Net, a similar program. According to the report, China has expanded its network of extradition treaties. China has 46 active extradition treaties, 17 of which originated between 2013 and 2022.
The report found that the Chinese government coerces dissidents living abroad by threatening their family members who still live in China. Additionally, Beijing uses fake social media profiles to surveil and intimidate Chinese people living abroad and engages in digital hacking campaigns to disrupt the work of human rights organizations that expose the CCP's abuses of Chinese citizens.
The report states that the U.S. government does not have a strategy capable of countering Beijing's transnational repression tactics. The authors noted that members of Congress have begun to call attention to these tactics but said legislators should consider using new and existing policy tools to counter this repression.
Congress established the USCC in 2000 to monitor, investigate, and report on the national security implications of the U.S.-China economic and trade relationship, according to the USCC's website.
