February 6, 2023
2 mins read

Uyghurs in Turkey in crosshairs of Chinese espionage

Now home to the largest Uyghur emigree population outside of Central Asia, Turkey has become a focus for Chinese espionage…reports Asian Lite News

More than six years into China’s campaign to eradicate independent Uyghur society at home, the Chinese authorities are going to great length to keep tabs on ordinary Uyghurs abroad, media reported.

The roughly 50,000 Uyghurs in Turkey face unique risks. The country has welcomed waves of Uyghur refugees since the 1950s, under policies supporting ethnic groups with cultural and linguistic ties to Turkey. Now home to the largest Uyghur emigree population outside of Central Asia, Turkey has become a focus for Chinese espionage, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported.

Chinese officials “consider those in exile, just by being abroad, people who they need to keep a very close eye on,” said Maya Wang, associate director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division.

“The purpose is to tighten control and surveillance and repression of everyone who is from that community, generating a sense of fear, and therefore compliance and loyalty, to the Chinese government, even when you are thousands of kilometers away from Beijing,” she said, RFA reported.

Turkey flag

Several Uyghur expatriates, all over the world, told RFA of recent Chinese attempts to intimidate them into becoming informants. They had all downloaded WeChat or Douyin, the Chinese version of Tiktok, in order to keep in touch with relatives back home.

Officials had then manipulated those digital ties to try to coerce them into spying on their communities abroad. Many of these Uyghurs declined to go on the record, fearing for the safety of relatives still in China.

Coercing Uyghurs to gather information on each other undermines trust and can dampen social and cultural gatherings, preventing Uyghur refugees from rebuilding their communities abroad, RFA reported.

“Uyghurs can become suspicious of one another and such an erosion of trust takes a toll on the community and frays its social fabric,” Natalie Hall, non-resident fellow at the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, wrote in an email interview.

In a 2021 report, the Uyghur Human Rights Project and the Oxus Society documented 5,530 instances of warnings, threats, and arrest requests directed at Uyghurs abroad, in 22 different countries, over the course of 19 years, RFA reported.

ALSO READ: People take to Istanbul streets against Chinese atrocities against Uyghurs

Previous Story

Canadian FM looks to cement ties in her first India trip

Next Story

Earth quake kills more than 1000 in Turkey, Syria

Latest from -Top News

Trump tariffs send world markets into panic

US benchmark crude oil shed $2.70 to $64.25 a barrel after major oil producers announced they plan to increase production. Brent crude, the international standard, was down $2.63 at $67.51 a barrel

EU prepares retaliation for Trump’s tariffs

The European Commission is assembling a fresh round of counter-tariffs aimed at US goods, adding to two existing lists of potential targets—one of which includes products that were hit by suspended tariffs

US, EU slam China’s war games near Taiwan

US President Donald Trump underscored the need to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait, advocating for a diplomatic approach to cross-strait tensions while warning against the use of force The United States

£13.9 billion of R&D fund to boost innovation, jobs

Funding outlined to support transformational R&D in areas like life sciences, green energy, engineering and beyond More UK innovators like those developing treatment-transforming dementia tests or building world-leading testing facilities to power

OPEC+ accelerates oil output hikes

Despite the production boost, the group emphasised that future adjustments remain flexible and could be paused or reversed depending on market conditions. Eight OPEC+ nations have unexpectedly decided to accelerate their oil
Go toTop

Don't Miss

China firm on Zero Covid policy despite public ire

The decision of the government to adhere to its “dynamic

Imran Khan admits pressure from US over China ties

Emphasising the deep relationship with China, Khan said that Pakistan