Safeguard Defenders Report Maps 1,247 Chinese MPS Liaison Points in 91 Countries Despite Claimed Station Shutdowns

Analysis
Beijing's claimed 2022 closures did not end the program; designated liaison points grew from roughly 100 stations to 1,247 sites in 91 countries, and Chinese police now work through united front bodies that carry no police signage. That shift defeats enforcement built on spotting police insignia, because the infrastructure now sits inside associations that also run ordinary community services, as Canada's minister noted when he cautioned against mislabelling sports and book clubs. Canada, New Zealand and other states without foreign-agent registries or with new ones face the harder task of tying each association to its united front affiliation, which prosecutions in New York and a French court ruling on the Paris station have shown to be possible. The count comes from Chinese-language public sources and a single advocacy group, and no government has yet confirmed the new figures. High confidence in the expansion trend reflects three outlets reporting the same figures independently, though the 1,247 total itself rests on one group's methodology.