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Germany's domestic intelligence agency has identified China, together with Russia and Iran, as major actors involved in transnational repression, warning that individuals who flee authoritarian countries may continue to face surveillance, threats and intimidation after arriving in Germany.
As highlighted by The Epoch Times (TET) report, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, or BfV, assessed a publication issued on August 20. According to the TET report, the BfV said China-linked activities have targeted Chinese activists and German critics of China's one-party system, as well as Uyghurs, Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners and individuals supporting Hong Kong's democracy movement or Taiwan. The BfV said China's political leadership relies on intelligence services and other actors operating under its direction or on its behalf to monitor and intimidate critics outside China, as cited by the TET report. Germany has also introduced a criminal provision targeting unlawful activities carried out at the direction of foreign states. As mentioned in the TET report, Section 87a of the German Criminal Code, which came into effect on April 2, provides for penalties of up to five years in prison for certain unlawful acts carried out in Germany on behalf of a foreign state. Some of the activities described by the BfV have also been documented in German court proceedings and government records, according to the TET report. In September 2025, the Dresden Higher Regional Court found Jian G. guilty of particularly serious intelligence activity for China and handed him a prison sentence of four years and nine months, as cited by the TET report. The court determined that Jian, a German citizen of Chinese descent, had been working for a Chinese intelligence service since 2007. One of the main areas of his work involved spying on and identifying Chinese opposition figures, according to the TET report. The BfV's identification of China, Russia and Iran as major actors in transnational repression underscores the German authorities' concerns over the ability of authoritarian governments to extend pressure on dissidents, activists and critics beyond their national borders. (ANI)
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