‘A brazen intrusion’: China’s foreign police stations raise hackles in Canada

The allegations came after a string of cases around the world in which China has been accused of overstepping to persecute its citizens far beyond its borders. Photograph: Cole Burston/AP

At a strip mall convenience store sandwiched between a hotpot restaurant and hair salon on the outskirts of Toronto, a clerk serves a steady flow of customers on a drizzly autumn morning.

In an office park a few miles away, a travel agent sorts through passports, arranging visas and booking tickets for her Chinese clientele.