Chinese political repression no longer limited to China, HRW warns

China’s political repression is extending beyond its shores as the Xi Jinping government intimidates citizens living in Japan, victims have told Human Rights Watch.

Chinese authorities are using “transnational repression” to target Chinese nationals living in Japan, particularly minorities from Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia, to deter them from protesting against the government or engaging in “anti-China activities”, the group said.

The group, based in New York, interviewed 25 people from Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, and other places in China living in Japan who said they had received warnings from Chinese police, sometimes through their relatives back home. They had held public programmes to raise awareness about the Uyghur minority and promote Tibetan culture and organised a reading club discussion by Mongolian activists.

Such activities, even when conducted beyond its borders, are viewed by the Chinese government as “unfavourable or threatening to one-party rule”, HRW said.

“Chinese authorities appear to have few scruples about silencing people from China living in Japan who criticise Beijing’s abuses,” said Teppei Kasai, Asia programme officer at Human Rights Watch.

“The Japanese government should make clear to Beijing that it won’t tolerate the long arm of China’s transnational repression in Japan.”

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One person said that they ceased participating in any politically sensitive activities after receiving a call from the Chinese authorities in 2024.

Several ethnic Uyghurs from Xinjiang said they were contacted by Chinese authorities through relatives back home as well as on WeChat to tell them to either stop anti-China activities or share information about the Uyghur community in Japan.

A person from Taiwan who had participated in activism related to Hong Kong while in a third country reported receiving multiple invitations from the Chinese embassy to go and “retrieve important documents”. They declined the embassy’s offer, fearing detention or reprisal.

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Although Beijing’s critics have long accused it of using threats, detainment or coercion to silence dissenting voices and discourage others from speaking out, the fresh allegations have come from beyond its jurisdiction.

Reports in recent years have suggested that some affluent Chinese people have moved to Japan over frustrations with the political system and economic slowdown.

Japan had 822,000 Chinese citizens living in the country at the end of 2023, a rise of 60,000 over the previous year and the biggest jump in migration in recent years.

Beijing has not responded to the Human Rights Watch report but it has previously denied criticism of targeting citizens living abroad, insisting that it “respects other countries’ sovereignty”. “The Chinese government fully protects Chinese citizens’ legal rights and freedoms in accordance with the law and is fully committed to protecting the safety and lawful rights and interests of overseas Chinese citizens,” it has said.

The Independent has reached out to the Chinese embassy in Tokyo for comment.