INTERPOL Slammed for Electing Chinese Official to Executive Committee

By Mary Trewartha / December 1, 2021;

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), the international cross-party group of legislators working towards reform on how democratic countries approach China, has issued a statement condemning INTERPOL, the international criminal police organisation which facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control, for electing Hu Binchen, a senior Chinese government official, to their executive committee.

IPAC’s statement reads, “The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China is deeply concerned by the election of senior Chinese government official Hu Binchen to the INTERPOL Executive Committee at today’s General Assembly meeting. “The government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has repeatedly abused the INTERPOL Red Notice to persecute dissidents in exile. Hu’s election gives the PRC government a green light to continue using INTERPOL as a vehicle for its repressive policies globally and places thousands of Hong Konger, Uyghur, Tibetan, Taiwanese andChinese dissidents living abroad at even graver risk.

“The PRC cannot be allowed to continue its long-arm policing abroad. In light of these abuses, we reiterate our call for all governments to revoke extradition treaties with the PRC and Hong Kong. Activists, dissidents and exiles living abroad must be protected from harassment and intimidation from the PRC authorities.”

INTERPOL’s Executive Committee is the governing body charged with the execution of the General Assembly’s decisions and its administration. The 13 committee members are from different countries with a “balanced geographical distribution”.

The appointment of Hu Binchen has hit the global media, with the British Guardian saying it is “prompting concerns from human rights activists and international politicians that China could misuse the global criminal police organisation’s capabilities to track down overseas dissidents”. The Guardian continues, “There are long-running concerns over governments or authorities misusing the system to track down dissidents […] Activists and advocacy groups [including IPAC] have lodged their objections at Hu’s potential election to the committee, noting alleged attempts by China to use the red notice system to target exiled Uyghur activists”. CNBC reports the appointment under the headline “China’s nominee for Interpol role meets international opposition, sparks fears for dissidents”.

TYC Campaign
The Tibetan Youth Congress, one of the largest Tibetan activist non government organisations in exile, is running their own campaign, drawing attention to the fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s administration has used INTERPOL to track down, harass and bring back to China “high-profile political dissidents”. They are calling on INTERPOL not to appoint the Chinese candidate Hu Binchen to their executive committee, and appealing to “leaders and nations to vote against him”.