Thailand to let Chinese police deployment in the country to boost tourism
Srettha Thavisin’s government today announced talks with China over the matter. However, fears of a possible loss of sovereignty were immediately expressed, citing the examples of Chinese police stations in more than 50 countries around the world. Only 2.8 million Chinese tourists arrived this year, far down from 11 million in 2019.
Bangkok (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Thailand is considering recruiting Chinese police personnel to deploy in some of the most popular tourist destinations to boost the confidence of visitors from mainland China, who constituted the largest group of tourists before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision has sparked controversy, criticism and fears of a possible loss of sovereignty, after a Safeguard Defenders, a Spain-based human rights group, last year reported the presence of dozens of Chinese police centres in more than 50 countries around the world.
“We’re in talks with the Chinese embassy about a patrol programme to bring Chinese police to Thailand,” Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool told reporters on Sunday.his will show how Thailand has ramped up safety measures, which will be a great boost to Chinese tourists’ confidence,” he added, citing as an example Italy, the European country with the highest number of secret Chinese police stations.
Responding to the criticism, government spokesman Chai Wacharonke said the project will target Chinese criminal groups operating in Thailand and will not undermine the country's sovereignty in any way.
In reality, Chinese police stations were repeatedly accused last year of going after Chinese dissidents abroad by connecting migrants with law enforcement agencies in mainland China.
Several countries have looked into the matter and many offices, including those in Italy, have been closed, also putting an end to patrolling operations.
In its report, the Safeguard defenders says that between April 2021 and July 2022, Chinese authorities claimed 230,00 Chinese nationals had been "persuaded to return” home to face criminal proceedings
According to the Spanish organisation, these are people involved in frauds, especially online scams, a plague for many young Chinese and Southeast Asian workers who are lured with fake job offers and then held against their will to run scams via the Internet.
For this reason, the authorities often advise their citizens NOT to travel to a number of countries (Myanmar, Cambodia, United Arab Emirates, Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Turkey and Indonesia) for security reasons, but as, Martin Purbrick points out in a paper published a few months ago, the warnings come from local and provincial authorities, not the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing.
Similarly, the expert points out, Safeguard defenders' count includes several categories of Chinese nationals, including individuals who were already at home and did not return from abroad.
The so-called overseas police stations seem to be run out of the Public Security Bureaus in three Chinese provinces (Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian) rather than the central government.
Moreover, China does not deny the presence of several centres, but denies that they carry out police activities, claiming instead that they provide services to Chinese nationals abroad.
Conversely, Chinese police officers had been deployed for some time in Italy, Serbia and other European countries, major travel destinations for Chinese tourists before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on statements by the Thai government, it seems that cooperation with China could lead to the type of cooperation that attracts tourists to Thailand.
Last September, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s administration lifted visa requirements for travellers from mainland China for five months, a privilege later granted to India and Taiwan as well.
Chinese arrivals have totalled 2.8 million so far in 2023, far fewer than the 11 million reported in 2019.
.png)
22/04/2021 14:01
