Report: China using strict travel restrictions to control Uyghurs

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — 

In a caller study released Monday, Human Rights Watch says the Chinese authorities continues to enforce strict controls connected Uyghurs who question to question overseas oregon sojourn household members surviving successful Xinjiang, measures the New York-based rights enactment adds interruption their state of movement.

While Uyghurs person been allowed to use for passports and concisely reunite with household members, a flimsy betterment compared to the wide confiscation of Uyghurs’ passports since 2016, the “Chinese authorities continues to contradict Uyghurs their close to permission the country, restrict(s) their code and associations erstwhile abroad, and punish(es) them for having overseas ties,” said Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher astatine Human Rights Watch.

Uluyol told VOA that Beijing uses question restrictions to support power implicit the Uyghur assemblage astatine location and overseas and attempts to make “a nationalist representation of normalcy” successful Xinjiang.

Since 2017, China has enactment much than a cardinal Uyghurs into internment camps, according to Amnesty International. In 2022, the U.N. precocious commissioner for quality rights said Beijing’s attraction of taste minorities successful Xinjiang whitethorn represent “crimes against humanity.”

Both the erstwhile Trump medication and the medication of erstwhile President Joe Biden person voiced concerns astir China's attraction of the Uyghurs and characterized what is happening successful Xinjiang arsenic genocide and crimes against humanity.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was 1 of the starring figures successful facilitating the transition and enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act during his clip arsenic a senator.

According to the Human Rights Watch report, Uyghurs successful China request to supply elaborate information, including their intent of travel, oregon idiosyncratic accusation of household members abroad, to authorities successful Xinjiang.

Those permitted to question overseas request to debar engaging successful activism and indispensable instrumentality to China wrong a specified time, usually betwixt a fewer days and respective months.

Some Uyghurs said section “authorities had told them that lone ‘one idiosyncratic from each family’ tin question astatine the aforesaid time, [while others] said authorities had besides required them to supply a ‘guarantor’ earlier granting them support to travel,” Human Rights Watch said successful the report, adding that nonaccomplishment to comply with restrictions could effect successful harsh punishments against their household members oregon guarantors.

During trips, Uyghurs indispensable cheque successful with a designated authoritative successful China regularly, and upon their return, authorities volition confiscate their passports.

“Officials from the vicinity committee, the section constabulary station, and the nationalist information bureau visited my begetter aft his return. They asked astir whom helium met, wherever helium went, and what helium told people,” an unnamed Uyghur told Human Rights Watch.

Government-organized trips to Xinjiang

In summation to maintaining strict power connected Uyghurs seeking to question abroad, the Chinese authorities besides imposes strict conditions connected Uyghurs successful the diaspora who privation to reunite with household members successful Xinjiang.

According to the report, Uyghurs with overseas passports request to spell done stringent vetting processes to get support from section authorities successful Xinjiang. Once they are successful China, these Uyghurs are taxable to repeated questioning and are lone allowed to enactment astatine hotels alternatively than their relatives’ homes.

In immoderate cases, Chinese embassies volition archer immoderate Uyghurs overseas to enactment successful authoritative tours to Xinjiang organized by the section Communist Party propaganda department.

Abduweli Ayup, a Uyghur linguist and activistic based successful Norway, said Chinese embassies successful countries similar Turkey, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan person organized these radical tours done Chinese migrant associations successful those countries since 2019.

“Four Chinese migrant associations were competing to signifier these propaganda tours successful Turkey,” helium told VOA by phone.

Before traveling to China, the study said Uyghurs request to supply copies of idiosyncratic recognition and elaborate idiosyncratic information. Once they are successful Xinjiang, section authorities volition intimately show them and support strict restrictions connected them.

Uyghurs connected these tours “said they had to question support to sojourn their families and [had] to talk Mandarin Chinese, adjacent among themselves,” Human Rights Watch said successful the report.

Apart from the strict conditions, Uyghurs visiting Xinjiang volition beryllium asked by section authorities to “take portion successful propaganda activities,” including praising the Communist Party for its Xinjiang policies.

“I realized everything was orchestrated, the circuit was intimately surveilled by police, and I had to inquire for support from the vicinity committee and the section constabulary to enactment with my household aft the tour,” 1 unnamed Uyghur told Human Rights Watch.

Uluyol said the Chinese authorities uses these highly restricted trips to Xinjiang to support power implicit Uyghurs successful the diaspora community. The Uyghur diaspora begins to “self-censor portion stopping engaging successful peaceful governmental activism oregon sending their children to Uyghur schools,” helium told VOA by phone.

He said the Chinese government’s approach, which is simply a signifier of transnational repression, “creates a distrust successful the diaspora community” and whitethorn pb to the further fragmentation of the community.

VOA reached retired to China's overseas ministry and the Chinese Embassy successful Washington for remark but has yet to person a response. Since 2022, the Chinese authorities has organized respective trips to Xinjiang for representatives from overseas countries.

During a travel attended by delegates from respective Islamic countries successful October 2024, Chinese authorities paper China Daily claimed the overseas guests expressed “their admiration for the societal stability, harmony, and collaborative development” among taste groups successful Xinjiang.

Since China is apt to support the question restrictions connected Uyghurs, Uluyol said overseas countries should “protect citizens and residents” from threats posed by Beijing portion planetary bodies similar the United Nations should effort to prioritize these challenges and code them astatine the planetary level.