Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra has told Chinese Ambassador Tan Jian that the clandestine offices that Beijing has allegedly set up on its territory to persecute political dissidents cannot be tolerated and must be shut down. These offices must be closed “immediately,” the Dutch foreign minister urged the Chinese diplomat, according to Nos, the Dutch public television channel. (https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/netherlands-tells-chinese-ambassador-that-clandestine-offices-must-be-closed-immediately/) China masks these alleged activities within what it calls “service centers”, which are active in several countries, according to information published last week by RTL Nieuws and the research platform Follow the Money. In theory, they serve to facilitate formalities for Chinese citizens living abroad, for example to renew driving licenses. However, it also performs police work and information gathering. The activity now under suspicion dates back to 2018, in the case of Amsterdam, and to this same year, in the case of Rotterdam.