Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is launching an investigation into a “service center” that is reportedly managed by a Chinese Communist Party intelligence service.
Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Miss.) alerted Bailey to the reported presence of a “service center” in the state of Missouri last week, prompting the attorney general to quickly announce an investigation into the report.
“The information you have shared with my office about a possible CCP outpost within the borders of Missouri is deeply concerning and will receive the full attention of my office,” Bailey wrote in a letter -obtained by the Daily Caller – to Wagner on Wednesday. “The threat posed by the CCP is very real.”
According to the Daily Caller, The Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department currently operates “Overseas Chinese Service Centers” in seven cities across the United States.
Based on reports from the Chinese state media, the seven service centers are located in California, Texas, Utah, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Missouri.
While the Overseas Chinese Service Centers appear to be tied to Chinese intelligence operations, the Daily Caller noted that the service centers are affiliated with Chinese officers in the Ministry of Public Security, which is China’s national police organization.
Currently, there is no evidence that the Overseas Chinese Service Centers utilize technology employed by the Ministry of Public Security; nevertheless, multiple Republican lawmakers have warned of the potential dangers of the service centers on U.S. soil.
Last week, Wagner told the Daily Caller that she had informed Missouri’s attorney general of the Chinese Communist Party’s U.S. service centers and had requested an investigation into the service center located in Missouri.
“It is imperative that U.S. federal and state governments build a complete understanding of the PRC’s network of overseas police stations and the Chinese Communist Party-linked entities supporting their malicious work to extend PRC repression and coercion beyond its borders,” Wagner said.
Wagner claimed the Chinese Communist party is “trying to expand it influence” across the globe, urging that U.S. leaders need to “stop any efforts to gain a foothold in America.”
“Communist dictators can’t use American soil to go after courageous dissidents and innocent families, and we must continue to fight back against this regime’s dangerous ideology,” she said. “I have notified the Missouri Attorney General’s office about my concerns, and I hope they take swift action to investigate this issue.”
