In April 2023, police officers from a city in southern Guangdong Province traveled 600 miles north to Wuhan, detained 25 employees of a social media company and coerced its finance staff to transfer more than $41 million to accounts associated with the police.

       The police claimed that the company operated an online casino, illegal in China, that was used by Guangdong residents under the officers’ jurisdiction. The company denied the allegation.

       “Is this law enforcement or outright robbery?!” the company, Changxiangban, said in a statement posted on its official WeChat social media account.

       This past April, the company, which had 1,600 employees, said it was forced to shutter. The damage to its business had been too great.

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       In the past few years, the Chinese police have been crossing provincial borders to raid companies and milk their books.

       In China’s official discourse, the practice has been categorized as “profit-driven law enforcement.” In Chinese news media and social media, it’s called “offshore fishing,” likening the police to fishermen who venture far out to sea for their catch.

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