Chinese Regime Conducts Global Espionage Campaign Through ‘Consular Volunteers’: Report

China’s communist regime has been operating a worldwide network of “consular volunteers” via its embassies and consulates for over a decade, aiming to strengthen the regime’s influence abroad and facilitate illicit activities, warned Spain-based rights group Safeguard Defenders in a new report. Human rights advocates who spoke to The Epoch Times expressed concern about how these entities could pose threats to overseas dissidents and the national security of the host countries. The “consular volunteers” collaborate with the United Front Work Department (UFWD)—an entity that engages in espionage—collecting information on individuals targeted by Beijing and assisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in manipulating overseas communities and suppressing dissenters, according to the report published on Nov. 21....