Lawmakers from 20 nations oppose China's nominee to Interpol committee

Parliamentarians and activists from around the world have launched a global campaign to oppose the candidacy of China's Hu Binchen to the Interpol Executive Committee

Parliamentarians and activists from around the world have launched a global campaign to oppose the candidacy of Hu Binchen, a Deputy Director General at China's Ministry of Public Security, to the Interpol Executive Committee at its General Assembly session later this month.

As many as 50 legislators, from 20 countries, who are part of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) penned a joint letter to their governments raising alarm at China's moves to gain influence over the global policing body, IPAC said in a statement on Monday.

IPAC is an international, cross-party alliance of parliamentarians from democratic countries focused on relations with the People's Republic of China, and specifically, the Chinese Communist Party.

The letter references recent attempts by the Chinese government to use the Interpol Red Notice system to target Uyghur activists living in exile and argues that Hu Binchen's election would give Beijing a 'green light' to continue using Interpol as "a vehicle for the PRC government's repressive policies."

The signatories span 20 countries across four continents, with prominent figures including German Green Reinhard Butikofer MEP, Chair of the European Parliament's China Delegation; Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former UK Conservative Party leader; Australian Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching and former US Presidential candidate Senator Marco Rubio.

The moves were accompanied by a separate letter from 40 activists to the Interpol Member States warning that Hu Binchen's election would have "grave consequences for the safety and wellbeing of Chinese, Hong Kongers, Taiwanese and Chinese human rights activists living outside China as well as Tibetan and Uyghur diasporas." Prominent signatories include World Uyghur Congress President Dolkun Isa, himself subject to an Interpol Red Notice by the PRC government for nearly two decades; and former Hong Kong legislators Nathan Law and Ted Hui, both of whom are wanted by the Chinese government for alleged violations under the city's so-called National Security Law.

Hu Binchen's election bid coincides with the release of a new report into the Chinese government's efforts to hide the extent of its 'long arm policing abroad'.

The report, published by human rights advocacy group Safeguard Defenders, reveals for the first time how the Chinese government is refraining from making its Interpol Red Notice requests public, putting thousands of activists and dissidents at risk of arrest, detention and extradition to China. The report also examines the role of Hu Binchen's International Cooperation Department in the PRC's pursuit of alleged 'fugitives' abroad through legal and illegal means.

"The Chinese Communist Party is increasing its influence over the world's most important institutions. From the UN Human Rights Council to the World Health Organisation, we have already seen how the CCP's pernicious influence poses a threat to us all. That Beijing could be extending its influence over the world's policing body should be raising alarm bells in Embassies across the world. Our governments must press delegates to oppose Hu Binchen's election," said Senator Kimberley Kitching, IPAC Co-Chair.