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

India Thwarts Pak Attacks, Hits Lahore Air Defence

India launches pre-dawn precision strikes on Pakistani air defence systems, with key radar installation in Lahore successfully neutralized, signalling a sharp escalation in regional military tensions…reports Asian Lite News The drones and

Mock drills held nationwide 

The nationwide mock drills are part of the government’s broader strategy to enhance civil defence capabilities and coinciding with the Pahalgam attack and India’s retaliatory action to it.   India conducted large-scale

India’s deepest strikes since 1971 

By extending its strike capabilities deep into Pakistan’s heartland, India has redrawn the contours of conventional deterrence in the subcontinent. This could embolden future Indian responses to cross-border terror attacks, but it

PM calls off Europe trip 

The visit was slated to include India’s participation in the 3rd India-Nordic Summit in Oslo on May 15–16.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi has postponed his forthcoming visits to Norway, Croatia, and the
Go toTop

Don't Miss

India rejects J&K references in China-Pak joint statement

The MEA’s statement firmly states that no other country possesses

Chinese citizen killed, 2 injured in gun attack in Pak’s Karachi

According to the official, the assailant, in his early 30s,