The Chinese government is maintaining severe restrictions, conditions, and controls on Uyghurs who seek to travel abroad in violation of their internationally protected right to leave the country, the Human Rights Watch said in a report on Monday.
The report further said that the government has permitted Uyghurs in the diaspora to make restricted visits to Xinjiang, but with the apparent aim of presenting a public image of normalcy in the region.
“The modest thaw in China’s travel restrictions has allowed some Uyghurs to briefly reunite with loved ones abroad after having no news for years, but the Chinese government’s travel restrictions are still used to oppress Uyghurs in Xinjiang and in the diaspora,” said Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“The Chinese government continues to deny Uyghurs their right to leave the country, restrict their speech and associations when abroad, and punish them for having foreign ties,” Uluyol added.
Human Rights Watch interviewed 23 Uyghurs outside China, and reviewed relevant official documents.
Uyghurs in China applying to visit a foreign country need to provide the authorities with the purpose of travel, Uyghurs who left Xinjiang recently or had met with relatives from Xinjiang said.
Those applying for family purposes are also required to provide an invitation from a family member abroad, along with their personal information, address, work status, and other documents, HRW said.
Permission comes with strict rules — Those travelling must not engage with activists abroad or speak critically about the Chinese government, and must return within a specified time, which could range from a few days to several months. In the case of business travel, Uyghurs are only allowed to visit certain countries, such as Kazakhstan, and are prohibited from visiting “sensitive countries” with large Muslim populations, such as Turkey.
The HRW in its report further said that Chinese diplomatic missions have directed some Uyghurs living abroad to join officially organized tours to Xinjiang hosted by the Xinjiang United Front Work Department, a Chinese Communist Party body.
“To take part in these tours, individuals need to provide to the mission a copy of their Chinese national identity cards, passports, and their home addresses in Xinjiang. The list is then sent to China where it goes through various departments such as the police, including the local police station, the public security bureau, and the unit responsible for counterterrorism, as well as the neighborhood committees,” HRW said.
Only approved people can join the official tour. Uyghurs holding foreign passports are additionally required to renounce their Chinese citizenship to take part in these tours. Uyghurs said they joined these official tours as they are a safer option, one that is also faster with an easier visa application process, compared with visiting the region on their own, risking police interrogation and possible detention.
Uyghurs who were on these tours described being closely monitored by their United Front handlers and said that they had to seek permission to visit their families, and to speak Mandarin Chinese, even among themselves. They also reported being made to take part in propaganda activities, such as being provided a script – with pinyin, or phonetic, notations for those not fluent in Mandarin Chinese – praising the Communist Party for its Xinjiang policies.
Notably, China’s government has a history of discriminatory passport policies against Uyghurs, who have long been subjected to especially stringent processes for passport applications. Since the abusive Strike Hard Campaign began in 2016, Chinese authorities have also forced Xinjiang residents to hand in their passports for “safekeeping” and have stopped renewing passports for Uyghurs living abroad.
