Returning relatives are asked to monitor Australian compatriots: Uighur immigrants face transnational coercion

For some Australian Uighurs, visiting their relatives back to Xinjiang is becoming a monitored journey.Human Rights Watch released a report on August 16 that said Chinese authorities questioned returning Australian Uighurs in Xinjiang and asked some of them to collect information from local Uighur activists, organizations and language schools after returning to Australia.

Human Rights Watch interviewed 11 Australian Uighur citizens and permanent residents from April to May this year, including recent visitors to Xinjiang. Respondents said they were asked to obtain local approval in advance, stay at designated hotels, report daily journeys, and receive multiple interviews during their trips to Xinjiang.

Figure: Human Rights Watch reports on Uighur human rights and overseas community issues.

One respondent said police repeatedly questioned Australian Uighur activists’ addresses and contact details and asked them to take photos of community activities after returning to Australia. Another was asked about teachers, students and activities at Uighur language schools. Human Rights Watch believes that such practices exploit the links between overseas Uighurs and Xinjiang families, turning family visits into opportunities for intelligence collection and behavioral constraints.

Australia currently has around 5,000 Uighurs and weekend Uighur language schools in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. Human Rights Watch notes that some parents are concerned that their children’s attendance in language schools will affect their own or their relatives’ future entry into Xinjiang, thereby reducing their participation in community activities.

The Australian Ministry of Internal Affairs responded that the Australian government took foreign interference and transnational repression seriously and that foreign governments should not threaten or coerce to prevent Australian residents from exercising their fundamental rights.

The most effective place for transnational repression is often not public violence, but the fear that “the family will bear the consequences for you.” As long as overseas activists believe that their speech in Australia affects Xinjiang relatives, they can actively reduce protests, interviews and community activities even in a democratic society.

Human Rights Watch calls on the Australian government to strengthen travel risk guidance, provide safe reporting channels, and promote family reunification. For Australia, the issue involves human rights, foreign intervention and national sovereignty: if foreign governments can control the speech of Australian residents through domestic families, repression has crossed borders.