China cooperates with African police
They say it’s to fight crime
But it’s more about promoting authoritarianism
Welcome to China Uncensored. I’m Chris Chappell.
When it comes to police brutality, very few are as brutal and efficient as China.
Aww jeez, another episode that’s going to get demonetized.
China spends more on police to control its 1.4 billion people than on defense.
But why focus only on perfecting authoritarian
policing domestically when you can also spread it abroad?
Woo! We’re taking this show on the road! I wonder if they’ll make any
“CCP Authoritarian Policing World Tour 2023 shirts.” They can use them to black bag people.
In his keynote speech at the 2017 Interpol General Assembly, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said,
“there are many inconsistencies in the current global security governance system,
which should be reformed and improved.”
How should it be improved? Well in China’s mind,
everyone should look to China’s Ministry of Public Security , or MPS, as a role model.
This is the same government entity that does everything from censoring the
internet to spying on Chinese citizens and even kidnapping political dissidents and minorities.
Also in 2017, the Chinese Communist Party called on MPS to “actively build
a law enforcement security cooperation system with Chinese characteristics”.
And what better place to build it than in Africa?
Well, the real better place to build it would be “absolutely nowhere.” But sure. Africa. Why not?
They haven’t had enough troubles.
Despite the fact that most African citizens demand democracy and reject authoritarianism,
Many African leaders are more than glad to work with China on things like security and policing.
According to Paul Nantulya, a researcher at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies , “Around 40
African countries have some kind of agreement with Chinese public security agencies.”
This includes 13 with extradition treaties, which is up from 0 in 2018. More on that later.
One of the ways China’s helping Africa with policing is giving it the tools to do so.
“Between 2003 and 2017, African countries secured $3.56 billion in Chinese loans for
public security, including surveillance systems, national security networks,
and other security wares like anti-riot gear. This figure is almost certainly
an undercount given that the bulk of this equipment is included in military sales.”
Ah yes, the same — and only — reason anyone likes the CCP.
China is also building police stations.
In 2020, the Heritage Foundation reported that “Chinese companies have built,
expanded, or renovated… at least 32 military or police installations”,
as well as dozens of other government buildings.
But African nations don’t need to worry. China definitely wouldn’t snoop on them.
I’m of course being sarcastic. China is nosier than what would
come out if Snuffleupagus and Gonzo had a baby.
China’s training African police as well.
In fact, according to the Center for American Progress, Africa received the second-largest
amount of training from China’s MPS training sessions, after only Asia.
I assume the entire training session is just saying, “Rights are just recommendations,
and if they disagree, just hit them harder. Congrats, you just graduated.”
Chinese state-run media claims that between 2018 and 2021,
China has trained over 2,000 African law enforcement officers in China.
And this isn’t just about technical skills. China’s big
on promoting policing with Chinese characteristics
African police are learning Chinese policing norms – i.e. authoritarianism.
I mean, the Chinese-trained police in Hong Kong and the Solomon Islands sure have.
Magistrates and lawyers are also getting training
in China. You know China, known for their rule of law.
I assume their entire training session is just saying, “Rights are just recommendations,
and if they disagree, just hit them harder. Congrats, you just graduated.”
In an academic article in The African Review, Nantulya points out, “The China Law Society,
African Law Institute in Xiangtan University,
and the Academy for International Business Officials within the [Chinese] Ministry of
Commerce have trained over 40,000 young African lawyers since 2007”
Meanwhile, other programs like the Africa Young Legal Professionals Exchange Program,
China Research Center on Legal Diplomacy, and China Africa Legal Cooperation Forum train African
lawyers as well, mostly for helping China’s Belt and Road Initiative in the legal realm.
And if people can’t afford to go to China,
then there’s always the option of getting Chinese training at home.
Nantulya states, “A joint program of Algeria’s Ministry of Interior and Local Authorities and
the Chinese Academy of Governance (CAG) graduated over 400 Algerian police,
law enforcement, and civil service personnel between 2015 and 2018. “
Isn’t that nice? China will eventually come to you! Especially if you’re Taiwan.
Fujian Police College launched a similar training program in 2019 in South Africa.
It’s not surprising that things like that make people nervous, especially when some
Chinese-trained police forces end up becoming death squads, as happened in South Africa.
People in Africa definitely have to watch out, not only for their own police,
but Chinese police as well. I’ll tell you more after the break.
Welcome back.
China’s giving African countries the tools and training to police their own
people with a more authoritarian twist, but it doesn’t end there.
China also gets directly involved in policing in Africa.
Safeguard Defenders found at least 13 overseas Chinese police stations across
10 African countries. China claims that its overseas police stations are just for
countering crime and helping Chinese citizens with things like driver's licenses, but there’s
a good chance that China’s also using them to intimidate the Chinese diaspora abroad.
Whaaaaat? No way. I’m sure China is devoting all this time and resources
just to make sure that Chinese citizens in Africa can get driver’s licenses.
You definitely need highly trained thugs to do that.
While I’m joking, that would actually explain
American DMVs. If China was behind this cruelty, that would explain a lot.
Sometimes, Chinese and African police operate together.
For example, earlier this year, Zimbabwe and Chinese police joined hands to solve a
disappearance case that led to the arrest of two Chinese residents.
And in January of last year, Ugandan Special Forces and over 30 Chinese commandos conducted
a joint operation that led to the arrest and deportation of four Chinese citizens
who reportedly committed crimes such as ransom, cyberattacks, and murder in multiple countries.
Zambia even contemplated a plan to employ eight Chinese police officers in 2017,
though that was scrapped after public outcry.
On the surface, this sounds good, but given that we’re talking about China here,
the line between actual crime-busting and politics is very murky.
So I wouldn’t get too excited about this Law and Order spin-off just yet.
In 2016, for example, Kenya worked with China’s police to arrest and
deport 44 Taiwanese people, not to Taiwan, but mainland China.
“Taiwan’s China policymaking Mainland Affairs Council said Taiwan and the mainland had initially
agreed to cooperate in investigating the Kenya case, but Beijing had gone back on its word.”
China, on the other hand, claimed that it was natural that foreign governments would send
Taiwanese people to the mainland, since Taiwan is a part of China.
The line becomes even murkier when the people
China goes after aren’t even criminals in the first place.
China has a long history of abusing international
policing tools like Interpol for political suppression, especially against Uighurs.
Dolkun Isa, the president of the World Uyghur Congress , was one such victim.
He made Interpol’s Red Notice list in 1997 after he organized a pro-democracy
student protest. It wasn’t until 2018 that Interpol removed the Red Notice.
So Uighurs in Africa aren’t safe either, not even in Muslim-majority countries.
The Arab world, including North Africa, is complicit in China’s crackdown on Uighurs.
The Arab world doesn’t take human rights seriously? No way.
I guess that’s the origin of that old joke: I just flew back from Saudi Arabia,
and boy are my arms… legs, and head dismembered for speaking out against the Crown Prince.”
In 2021, one computer engineer who worked for a number of Uighur human rights organizations in
Turkey was arrested in Morocco after China issued an Interpol Red Notice on charges of terrorism.
Even after Interpol later suspended its Red Notice,
Moroccan courts still ruled in China’s favor for extradition.
Probably because China had all the correct paperwork. If you know what I mean.
Egyptian officials, meanwhile, arrested a group of 200 Uighur residents in 2017
and put many of them in Tora Prison,
a notorious place reserved for hardened criminals and political enemies.
Of course, it’s totally just a coincidence that this happened mere weeks after Egypt’s
interior ministry signed a cooperation agreement with China’s MPS to “address
the spread of terrorism and extremist ideologies.”
Was that discussion, “Hey,
we should spread terrorism and extremist ideologies! Communism is a good one.”
“Uyghur exile groups and students say the detentions were ordered by
China on allegations that they had ‘joined extremist organizations.’”
Things like that are why Africans shouldn’t trust China to help with policing.
Many find Chinese policies to be very attractive and claim
that their way of policing is a good role model,
But no one should be surprised when African leaders use China’s
tools and methods against their own people.
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And today’s question comes from…uhhh
I’m going to call you Bob. well I don’t think I can say your name. “With Elon musk working with
the CCP and suggesting Taiwan gets integrated. What do you think would happen to Tesla if
TSMC stops making chips for them? I wish TSMC would stop doing business with these traitors.
Great question, Bob. So TSMC is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of high tech
semiconductors. The entire modern world kind of relies on it. And it’s a Taiwanese company.
So would TSMC put the screws on Musk for his support of a Chinese takeover of Taiwan?
I doubt it because they do a lot of business in China.
They even recently got a special license to continue selling to China despite US restrictions.
So I wouldn’t be surprised if like Musk,
many top folks in TSMC are also in favor of a peaceful surrender to China.
Thanks for your question and your support Bob.
And thank you for watching.
Once again, I’m Chris Chappell. See you next time.