by Philip Lenczycki
Eight Republican senators urged the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday to immediately investigate a network of Chinese Communist Party-linked “service centers” operating in several U.S. cities.
A CCP “intelligence service” called the United Front Work Department (UFWD) runs so-called “Overseas Chinese Service Centers” (OCSCs) from within at least seven U.S. nonprofits, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation recently revealed. Launched between 2014 and 2017, the U.S. OCSCs are located in San Francisco, California; St. Paul, Minnesota; St. Louis, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; Charlotte, North Carolina; Houston, Texas and Salt Lake City, Utah, according to Chinese state-media reports.
Republican senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Haggerty of Tennessee; Ted Cruz and John Cornyn of Texas; Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Mike Braun of Indiana, Steve Daines of Montana and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota pressed the Biden administration to “act decisively” and “immediately commence an inquiry” into the U.S. OCSC network in a letter sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen on Monday that the DCNF obtained.
“The CCP’s intent is clear with its operation of these OCSCs: to intimidate and surveil Chinese Americans with dissenting opinions,” the letter stated. “We have witnessed over the last few years China’s malign influence in the United States and around the world, underscoring why it is critical that these allegations outlined in the Daily Caller’s reporting be thoroughly investigated.”
The senators’ letter called on the DOJ and FBI to answer a number of questions including whether or not an investigation had already been launched into the U.S. OCSC network.
Furthermore, the letter also asked the DOJ and FBI if they agreed that the UFWD-run service centers existed in order to “coerce and surveil Chinese-American dissidents.”
In 2022, the U.S.-China Economic and Security and Review Commission characterized the UFWD as being “responsible for building and managing relationships with actors overseas to expand China’s soft power and further the CCP’s political agenda,” adding that UFWD operatives are “often ‘dual hatted’ officials working in more than one role.”
On one level, U.S. OCSC branches perform mundane duties in support of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, such as processing passport applications, according to Chinese government reports.
However, in addition to their UFWD and Ministry of Foreign Affairs ties, U.S. OCSC officials have also met with personnel from China’s national police authority, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), according to Chinese state-run media reports.
In 2018, U.S. OCSC officials traveled to China for a “work conference” that included a stop at a police station in Zhejiang province, which also serves as a command center for so-called “Overseas Chinese Police Contact Points” around the world, the DCNF recently reported.
“The MPS also serves as an intelligence operative for the CCP, which is why these allegations are so troubling and merit immediate investigation,” the senators’ letter stated.
Republicans senators Ted Budd and Thom Tillis of North Carolina; John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas; Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt of Missouri; Mike Lee and Mitt Romney of Utah, as well as Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska sent a letter to the DOJ earlier on Monday expressing “grave concern” about the U.S. OCSC network, the DCNF reported.
This letter also expressed concern about the Biden administration’s response to the discovery of the U.S. OCSC network.
“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 senators wrote.
Meanwhile, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced on June 28 that his office would launch an investigation into the St. Louis OCSC, the DCNF reported.
“The threat posed by the CCP is very real,” Bailey wrote to Missouri Republican Rep. Ann Wagner shortly after the congresswoman had notified the attorney general’s office about the existence of the St. Louis OCSC.
The FBI, DOJ and U.S. OCSC branches did not respond immediately to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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Philip Lenczycki is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
