Foreign students reported that family members in China received threats.
Beijing:
China is targeting citizens studying abroad for their political activism, human rights group Amnesty International said on Monday, with some students reporting harassment of family members back home.
China does not tolerate political dissent and has used sophisticated technological tools, as well as intimidation, to suppress domestic protesters and activists.
And Beijing’s restrictions on political activism are increasingly expanding abroad in the form of “transnational repression,” Amnesty International said in a report, citing interviews with dozens of students in eight European and North American countries.
Foreign students have reported that family members in China have received threats after attending events abroad, including commemorations of the bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, according to the group.
“Threats made to family members in mainland China included revoking their passports, getting them fired from their jobs, preventing them from receiving promotions and retirement benefits, or even limiting their physical freedom,” he said.
Students also said they were blocked from posting and surveilled on Chinese social apps – often the only way to communicate with family due to Beijing’s internet firewall.
One student told Amnesty International that police showed his parents “transcripts of his online WeChat conversations with family members”.
Students said they actively self-censored during classes and social interactions and complained of mental health problems caused by feelings of pervasive surveillance, “ranging from stress and trauma to paranoia and depression.”
“I would really like to publish my thesis… but I am worried, so I chose not to do so,” one student told Amnesty.
Beijing has not yet responded to Monday’s report, but has already rejected growing criticism in recent years that it targets citizens living abroad, insisting that it respects the sovereignty of other countries and that any law enforcement operations are conducted in accordance with the law.
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