[Secret deal: China's security cops can investigate in #Switzerland]
1. @NZZaS: #China & #Swiss signed a secret deal in 2015 allowing #Beijing's security officers to investigate Chinese nationals WITHIN #Switzerland for 2 weeks, even w/o official status.
nzzas.nzz.ch/schweiz/geheim…
1. @NZZaS: #China & #Swiss signed a secret deal in 2015 allowing #Beijing's security officers to investigate Chinese nationals WITHIN #Switzerland for 2 weeks, even w/o official status.
nzzas.nzz.ch/schweiz/geheim…
2. Five years after the secret deal was signed, no Swiss MP had ever heard of the deal. In contrast to similar agreements between #Switzerland and other countries, the one with #China is harsher as #Chinese cops can come and investigate without prior discussion with Swiss govt.
3. Even though the treaty claims only covering smugglers and illegal immigrants, it is doubtful whether this extraterritorial enforcement power can be abused under the newly enacted #nationalsecuritylaw that covers foreigners.
4. Although the treaty claims excluding #Tibetans & #Uyghurs, it is dubious if this exemption can really hold since #Beijing in the past treated China-born foreign nationals as Chinese, such as Swedish citizen #GuiMinhai that was sentenced to 10yo prison. wsj.com/articles/china…
5. Not to mention that dissidents in exile, #Hongkongers or even #Taiwanese overseas might be covered by the secret deal & extradited to #China’s courts. In fact, #hkpolice has already used the new law to arrest dissidents in exile and also a US citizen.
edition.cnn.com/2020/08/01/chi…
edition.cnn.com/2020/08/01/chi…
6. The agreement now plans to seek extension upon its expiry at the end of this year. As it has grave implications on overseas dissidents and jeopardizes the reputation of Switzerland, Swiss gov should disclose more information about the secret deal.
