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"We know you better than you know yourself": China’s transnational repression of the Uyghur diaspora
By David Tobin and Nyrola Elimä
Open Access Download (March 2023)
Abstract
Transnational repression has expanded in Xi Jinping’s 'new era,' but its tactics have gradually changed since 2017, with increased use of Uyghur informants to gather intelligence while backing off from harassing those who resist pressure. These tactics have evolved to avoid international attention by harassing isolated individuals, placing community figures under surveillance, quietly intimidating Uyghurs from speaking publicly and even enlisting them to create positive images of China. The PRC’s transnational repression globally exports its domestic model of governance and genocidal oppression to target all Uyghurs and their family members through enforced family separation, mobility restrictions, and surveillance. The party-state’s transnational repression, therefore, undermines both human rights and the organising principle of sovereignty in international relations. The UK’s democratic political environment gives Uyghurs space to exercise their civil rights though many request support to assist with integration and information on their rights when facing transnational repression. However, in Turkey, there are growing dangers of deportations of Uyghurs with humanitarian visas, surveillance, and restrictions on civil rights. Transnational repression is less visible in Thailand because it is used as a transit stop for Uyghurs escaping persecution through human trafficking routes from southwest China. This report finds that the scale of transnational repression in the Uyghur diaspora is universal, and its impact severely restricts their rights to free speech and associations, and the capacity to maintain their culture.
Keywords: transnational repression, authoritarianism, human rights, security, China, Xinjiang, Uyghurs, Turkey, U.K., Thailand, ethnicity, policy.
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