The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has called on Australia to protect its Uyghur community from Chinese government intimidation, warning that Beijing is using surveillance, interrogations and family ties in East Turkistan to pressure people living in Australia and suppress activism beyond China’s borders.
The WUC said the treatment documented in a recent Human Rights Watch investigation should be viewed as part of a broader system of transnational repression rather than as restrictions affecting travelers only.
It said Chinese authorities were attempting in some cases to extract information about Uyghur activists in Australia from people visiting relatives in East Turkistan.
Human Rights Watch reported this week that Uyghur Australian citizens and permanent residents faced extensive vetting before being allowed to visit relatives, while those permitted to travel were subjected to surveillance, questioning and restrictions on their movements.
The WUC said those findings demonstrate how access to relatives can be used as leverage over a diaspora whose family members remain vulnerable to Chinese authorities.
Many Uyghurs in Australia cannot freely visit relatives, it said, while telephone contact with family members in East Turkistan is also subject to government monitoring.
Three Uyghur Australians interviewed by Human Rights Watch said they were placed in a government-designated hotel during visits and required to report their activities to authorities each day.
The WUC highlighted the experience of another Uyghur Australian who told researchers that Chinese authorities interrogated him more than a dozen times, including one session lasting more than seven hours.
He said officials sought addresses and telephone numbers of Uyghur activists in Australia and, when he said he did not have the information, pressured him to photograph activists and monitor their activities after returning to Australia.
The WUC said such attempts went beyond surveillance inside China and represented an effort to extend Beijing’s control into Australia by recruiting members of the diaspora to gather information on fellow Uyghurs.
The organization also raised concern about China’s new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, which took effect July 1.
Its Article 63 provides for legal liability against organizations and individuals outside China accused by Beijing of activities that “undermine ethnic unity and progress or create ethnic division.”
The WUC warned that the provision could increase pressure on Uyghurs overseas by giving Chinese authorities another legal basis to target advocacy and political activity carried out beyond the country’s borders.
It said the consequences extend beyond those who travel to East Turkistan. According to the WUC, threats against relatives, restrictions on family contact and demands for information are used to discourage Uyghurs overseas from criticizing Beijing or participating in advocacy organizations.
The group said similar tactics have been reported across Uyghur communities in other countries, arguing that the treatment of Uyghur Australians is part of an international pattern intended to isolate diaspora communities and create fear around political activism.
The WUC called on the Australian government to take measures to protect Uyghurs living in the country from Chinese transnational repression and ensure that activists can campaign for Uyghur rights without fearing retaliation against themselves or their relatives.
