Uyghur Rights Beyond China’s Borders: China’s Transnational Repression

The roundtable examines China’s transnational repression and what it means for fundamental freedoms for Uyghurs in Germany.
About this Event

China’s repression of Uyghurs does not stop at China’s borders. Uyghurs living in Germany and other democratic countries face surveillance, intimidation, threats, pressure on family members in China, digital targeting and other forms of transnational repression aimed at restricting their freedom of expression, political participation and human rights advocacy.

China’s new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress adds a significant new dimension. Article 63 explicitly addresses organizations and individuals outside China and provides for legal responsibility for acts that Chinese authorities consider to undermine “ethnic unity and progress” or “create ethnic division”.

What does this mean for an Uyghur activist speaking, organizing or advocating for human rights in Berlin? Can activities protected as fundamental freedoms in Germany expose individuals or their families to consequences imposed by the Chinese state?

Using the Uyghur experience as its central case, the roundtable will examine the new law against the broader reality of China’s transnational repression. A prominent Uyghur activist will provide a first-hand perspective on repression beyond China’s borders. A China, legal or transnational-repression expert will examine Article 63 and assess what the new law may mean for individuals and organizations abroad. A representative of the Coalition against Transnational Repression in Germany, will broaden the discussion by identifying common patterns of Chinese transnational repression across affected communities.

Members of the German and European Parliament will provide a focused response on how Germany and Europe should address foreign-state intimidation and protect people exercising their fundamental freedoms on democratic soil.

The discussion will be moderated by a representative of the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) and will conclude with an audience Q&A.

At the heart of the event is a fundamental question: Who determines the boundaries of freedom for people living in Germany - the fundamental rights guaranteed in Germany, or the threat of repression imposed by an authoritarian state from abroad?