Utah Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney signed on to a letter asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to provide them with more information about “Overseas Chinese Service Centers” operating in the U.S., including one that is in Salt Lake City.
The two senators joined with eight other Republican senators to write the letter, which says they have “grave concerns” about the service centers and asks the Department of Justice to share additional information about them. The letter raises concerns over possible links between the centers and China’s intelligence service.
In addition to Salt Lake City, there are centers in Charlotte, San Francisco, Houston, Omaha, St. Paul and St. Louis, the letter says.
The senators cite a Daily Caller article that links the centers to a Chinese agency, the United Front Work Department, which a report to Congress from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission identifies as a “Chinese intelligence service.”
The letter also says service center representatives met with members of the Chinese police force and Ministry of Public Security on a trip to China, where they discussed “the use of technology to conduct ‘cross-border remote justice services’ overseas.”
“Due to the serious nature of this issue, we request that DOJ brief the undersigned senators or their staff, and to respond to the following questions by July 31, 2023,” the letter says.
The questions the senators want answers to are, as listed in the letter:
1. Does DOJ assess that any of the seven aforementioned OCSCs is engaging in any illegal activity? If so, please describe this illegal activity.
2. What action, investigative or otherwise, is DOJ taking in relation to the seven aforementioned OCSCs?
3. Is DOJ aware of additional OCSCs or similar PRC facilities operating in the U.S. that have not been previously acknowledged by DOJ? If so, please identify and describe them.
4. What actions will DOJ undertake to ensure that it has identified every OCSC or similar PRC facility in the U.S.?
5. What actions will DOJ take to ensure that the PRC does not establish additional OCSCs or similar facilities in the U.S.?
The Salt Lake City center operates as a nonprofit, the Utah Chinese Civic Center, according to information in a Daily Caller article, which was cited in the letter.
In April, the Department of Justice announced the arrest of two New York City residents for allegedly operating an illegal overseas police station in the city on behalf of the Chinese government.
The letter was spearheaded by North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd, and was also signed by Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn of Texas, Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, and Eric Schmitt and Josh Hawley of Missouri.