Beehive State News

Utah Senators Mitt Romney and Mike Lee, along with eight other Republican senators, have joined forces to seek answers regarding alleged service centers in the United States that are linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In a letter addressed to the Department of Justice earlier this month, the senators are demanding information about what was previously known regarding these operations and what measures are being taken to protect national security.

"The DOJ must ensure that our adversaries such as the CCP are not operating intelligence operations or engaging in repression on U.S. soil," Senator Mitt Romney said.

"We write to express our grave concerns regarding reports of “Overseas Chinese Service Centers” (OCSCs) operated by an intelligence service of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in conjunction with the PRC’s national police force," the letter states, according to the United States Senate. "One such OCSC is reportedly housed at the Carolinas Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the other centers are collocated with nonprofits in San Francisco, California; Houston, Texas; Omaha, Nebraska; St. Paul, Minnesota; Salt Lake City, Utah; and St. Louis, Missouri."

The letter, directed to Attorney General Garland and composed on July 10, expresses numerous concerns regarding the centers. It includes a series of questions that require a response by July 31, among them: "What action, investigative or otherwise, is DOJ taking in relation to the seven aforementioned OCSCs?", "What actions will DOJ undertake to ensure that it has identified every OCSC or similar PRC facility in the U.S.?", "What action, investigative or otherwise, is DOJ taking in relation to the seven aforementioned OCSCs?", and more, according to the United States Senate.

The letter, signed by a total of 10 senators, includes representatives from North Carolina, Utah, Texas, Nebraska, and Missouri, with two senators from each state. Among the signatories are Josh Hawley from Missouri, Mitt Romney from Utah, and Deb Fischer from Nebraska, according to The Carolina Journal.

"Further, the ongoing discovery of additional OCSCs raises the question of whether DOJ’s response sufficiently addresses the threat, particularly because OCSCs have openly operated for several years and their activities have been reportedly documented in Chinese state media and social media posts," the letter states, according to the United States Senate.

This is not the first time OCSCs have made headlines. Back in April, two men were apprehended for running an unreported police station in New York City, linked to the CCP. Allegedly, they used this facility to conduct surveillance on Chinese individuals living in America and harassed them through social media, according to the Associated Press.

The investigation into these alleged service centers is ongoing, and the senators are determined to get answers to safeguard national security and address potential threats posed by foreign intelligence operations on American soil.