Chinese and Hungarian police officers will conduct joint patrol services in Hungary in the future – confirmed the Ministry of Interior on last Wednesday. Minister of Interior Sándor Pintér signed the agreement with the Chinese Minister of Public Security in mid-February. Regarding the matter, the ministry stated last week:
police officers of the two countries will jointly perform patrol services in the future, facilitating more effective communication between the citizens and authorities of the parties, while also improving public order and security.
According to the Ministry of Interior, the purpose of the cooperation agreement is to enhance the security of the most significant tourist destinations within the two countries during peak season and at events attracting larger crowds. A similar agreement is already in place regarding the involvement of Hungarian police officers in Croatia and the Austrian police force in Hungary – the statement of the Ministry recalls.
However, the existing cooperation with Croatia and Austria – indeed primarily aimed at aiding tourism – differs in several aspects from the admission of Chinese police officers to Hungary. For instance, Austria and Croatia are
- Hungary’s neighbours,
- have closer ties to Hungary through various supranational alliances, such as the European Union,
- while the Schengen Agreement plays a fundamental role in the establishment of law enforcement cooperation.
This is clearly an issue of sovereignty
– evaluated the situation György Suha, international relations expert and former diplomat, who, as an expert on African studies, has extensively addressed the expansionist aspirations of the People’s Republic of China in several studies.
“Do not think for a moment that these are classic police roles. When abroad, a Chinese police officer represents the interests of the Chinese government, primarily in the political sphere” – the expert stated to 24.hu. According to Suha, the Chinese law enforcement authority is inherently political by virtue of origin, essentially acting as a national security agent and, to some extent, a spy when operating in third countries. Regarding the law enforcement cooperation with China – he added – it is absolutely out of the question that the agreement serves tourism purposes: all this is about is Hungary opening its doors to individuals associated with another, explicitly autocratic country’s authorities.
Let’s not pretend that this is about helping Chinese tourists get directions to major sights and landmarks; the Chinese presence is about something else
– he said.
In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government have interests in a new kind of worldwide security cooperation. According to György Suha, the explicit goal of the People’s Republic of China is to establish a new, independent system of security regulations in the global sphere, with least two distinct elements,
- one resting on military foundations,
- while the other is based on law enforcement.
And although these two areas are controlled by different political structures in China as well, the two strains of expansionist effort are not independent of each other. Numerous signs indicate successful expansion in the military field, primarily seen in China’s participation in UN peacekeeping missions with the largest contingent among the members of the UN Security Council, also ranking second regarding financing.
“In Chinese perception, the Communist Party and the state have a special responsibility and obligation to keep track of and supervise Chinese communities abroad, and to act as an authority within the world of Chinese communities beyond China’s borders as well” – György Suha evaluated the motivations behind Chinese law enforcement expansion. Although Interpol is a defining arena for global law enforcement cooperation, China has been visibly striving in recent years to strengthen its presence through bilateral relations, too – this is essentially what last Wednesday’s press release is about.
Based on publicly available Chinese government sources, the Ministry of Public Security has so far entered into 51 such bilateral agreements with 31 foreign governments. The expert pointed out that Chinese police officers have been admitted by several European countries before: there have been instances of such ad-hoc cooperation with countries such as Switzerland and France. In the case of Switzerland, for example, the cooperation aimed to identify Chinese citizens involved in visa-related fraud. In the mid-2000s, Switzerland expelled numerous Chinese citizens for such reasons.
As last week’s press releases also pointed out, in 2022, the Spain-based human rights organisation Safeguard Defenders revealed that
According to the organisation’s studies, one of the functions of these police stations – in a fashion similar to what has been mentioned earlier – could be to “persuade” Chinese citizens to return. In other words, the police stations may have been involved in forcing Chinese individuals back to China, potentially through the intimidation of relatives and loved ones remaining in the country.
As for Hungary, it was Márton Tompos, deputy leader of Momentum’s parliamentary faction, who revealed that such unofficial “police stations” operated in two of Budapest’s districts. Tompos recalled this week on social media that already in the fall of 2022, illegal Chinese police stations were discovered operating in Districts VIII and X. However, shortly after the first reports of them had appeared in the media, the Chinese-language police signs vanished, along with the service stations. At that time, the Ministry of Interior denied any knowledge of the issue.
Regarding the matter, Márton Tompos stated on Thursday that he had turned to the government’s recently established Sovereignty Protection Office, created with the intention of hindering “foreign influence”.
The presence of the Chinese police – now established legally – poses risks not only concerning the aforementioned issues but also Hungary’s alliance systems. According to the expert, one example may be that by allowing individuals clearly linked to the authorities of the People’s Republic of China to enter its territory, Hungary opens the door to the entire Schengen area as well.
In what way does this serve Hungary’s interests?
– György Suha posed the question, referring to the government’s frequent invocations of so-called “Hungarian national interests” to justify its foreign policy decisions. The researcher also points to questions about whether the bilateral agreements are based on the principle of reciprocity. It is currently unclear what the Hungarian government receives in return for admitting Chinese law enforcement agencies. However, in response to our question, György Suha admitted that
Left-wing MSZP’s Tamás Harangozó, Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Law Enforcement, expressed similar concerns. The representative stated that they have not received any information on the government’s part regarding the question of what legitimate reason there may be to “allow the law enforcement agencies of a country declared as a security challenge by NATO to enter the country and impose their presence on our own citizens.” Harangozó added that the committee is planning to put the issue of Hungarian-Chinese law enforcement cooperation on the agenda for their next meeting.
We reached out to the Ministry of Interior’s Communication Department regarding the Chinese-Hungarian law enforcement agreement. Among other things, we inquired:
- How does this agreement serve Hungary’s interests?
- How does the cooperation contribute to preserving Hungary’s sovereignty?
- Is there a maximum limit on the number of Chinese “patrol officers” allowed, in terms of headcount?
- Is there a specific timeframe to the agreement, specifying from when and for how long Chinese police officers will stay in Hungary?
- Who will conduct the screening of incoming Chinese personnel? Will there be such an examination at all, and if so, under what framework?
- How do they plan to identify individuals among the “patrol officers” intending to engage in espionage activities within Hungary’s territory?
- How does the Ministry of Interior ensure communication between Hungarian and Chinese personnel? Will Hungarian patrol commanders speak Chinese, or are Hungarian language skills expected from Chinese police officers?
We have not received a response from the Ministry of Interior.
