Community service centres to TikTok: China's expanding influence, surveillance in US

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is expanding its influence and surveillance activities inside the United States, from academic institutions and cultural organisations to covert intimidation of dissidents, according to a report by the European Times.

The campaign, the report said, is aimed at protecting the CCP’s image, suppressing criticism and enforcing ideological conformity, even among Chinese nationals who have left the country seeking freedom. The effort, it added, threatens the safety of the Chinese diaspora and the integrity of U.S. institutions and values.

The alleged operations include community service centres that act as outposts to monitor and intimidate members of the diaspora, particularly those critical of the CCP. The FBI’s arrest of two men in New York for running one such illegal station was described as a rare moment of public accountability. Prosecutors said the men acted on instructions from China’s Ministry of Public Security and attempted to coerce a Chinese dissident to return to China.

The European Times called China’s transnational repression “persistent and systematic,” aimed at silencing critics, including ethnic minorities, democracy activists and religious practitioners, who continue to oppose Beijing from abroad.

Chinese students and scholars in the U.S. have reported being monitored, harassed or coerced, with some fearing their families in China could face reprisals if they speak out. Professors teaching topics sensitive to Beijing, such as Hong Kong, the Tiananmen Square massacre, Tibet and Xinjiang, have faced online threats and harassment. Uyghur Americans have received anonymous threats or had family members in Xinjiang threatened.

Much of China’s influence in the U.S. is overt, facilitated by economic investments and cultural diplomacy. The CCP’s United Front Work Department, a bureaucratic body tasked with shaping foreign opinion, has expanded its global operations, including in the U.S., the report said.

On some U.S. campuses, Chinese student organisations with alleged ties to Chinese consulates have been accused of monitoring peers and reporting “unpatriotic” behaviour. The report said this fosters fear and self-censorship, undermining academic freedom.

The CCP also projects power in the digital realm through disinformation campaigns, cyber espionage and online harassment. Pro-Beijing networks allegedly use platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to discredit critics, promote CCP narratives and distort public discourse.

Chinese tech companies operating globally are subject to laws requiring cooperation with the Chinese state. This has raised concerns about data privacy, censorship, and algorithmic influence, particularly with apps like TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance.

The report also said China uses “lawfare”, employing legal systems to target critics, by manipulating extradition treaties, Interpol notices and bilateral law enforcement agreements to pursue exiled dissidents under the guise of criminal charges. Beijing has also used lawsuits to suppress journalism and scholarship critical of the regime.

“The message CCP seeks to send through these tactics is that there is no safe haven,” the European Times said. “Criticism of the CCP may follow people, including students, activists, academics, or ordinary citizens, even in the United States.”

The report concluded that the CCP’s repression and influence efforts “directly challenge the values that form the foundation of U.S. democracy, freedom of speech, academic freedom, transparency, and human rights.”