The Chinese Communist Party has created a “climate of fear” in an attempt to keep Chinese international students from engaging in topics considered taboo by Beijing, according to a new report from rights group Amnesty International.
Amnesty researchers spoke with 32 Chinese international students studying in eight countries in Europe and North America between October 2023 and December 2023, including the United States, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium. They found that the students were compelled to self-censor and held back on political activism out of fear of repercussions from the Chinese regime.
“As we met with more students, we saw that—no matter where they studied—there were shared experiences of specific acts targeting them in retaliation for exercising their freedom of expression; shared fears about how their engagement on rights issues might affect their families, their safety, and their careers; and shared stresses and frustrations with how to seek support within their university communities,” Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s China director, told The Epoch Times via email on May 9, ahead of the publication of the report.
The report, titled “On My Campus, I am Afraid,” has anonymized the interviewees’ names and did not identify the universities they attend to protect their safety. Of the 32 Chinese international students interviewed, 19 were from China, 12 were from Hong Kong, and one was from Macau.
Rowan, one of the Chinese international students, told Amnesty that she once attended a commemoration of the Chinese regime’s 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Within hours of attending the event, Rowan heard from her father in China, who had been contacted by security officials.
Rowan’s father was told to “educate his daughter who is studying overseas not to attend any events that may harm China’s reputation in the world,” according to the report.
A year later, Rowan said she was contacted by her father again, hours after she took part in a vigil near a Chinese diplomatic mission in her city.
Rowan said the Chinese authorities’ intention was clear.
“You are being watched, and though we are on the other side of the planet, we can still reach you,” she told Amnesty.
Ethan, a graduate student in North America, told Amnesty, “When I first came to the United States, I felt free to participate in activities. But now I feel unsafe. ... I constantly worry about my parents being harassed by police.”
According to the report, 10 of the 32 students interviewed said their family members in China had “experienced harassment” from Chinese officials as a result of their activities overseas. Family members were known to be threatened with having their passports revoked, losing their employment, being denied promotions and retirement benefits, and even having their physical freedom restricted.
Chinese communist officials were also known to put pressure on Chinese parents to cut off their financial support to their children studying overseas, according to the report.
“One student said Chinese national security police instructed their parents to cut them off financially and police also threatened other in-laws with trouble if they sent money,” the report reads.
Some students decided to proactively cut off ties with their parents in China, according to the report.
‘Repressive Atmosphere’
Ms. Brooks said many young Chinese and Hongkongers have shown an “increased interest in human rights activism” following the 2019–2020 mass protests in Hong Kong and a rare one-man protest against Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping at China’s capital in 2022.That interest in advocacy has “led to not only new models of organizing that showed the power of international solidarity but also to an increased crackdown from Chinese authorities,” she said.
It was against this backdrop that Amnesty decided to look into the issue and put together the report, according to Ms. Brooks.
Several students said they believed that they were under surveillance by Chinese authorities or their agents, the report states, and 14 interviewees said they had been “suspiciously photographed or recorded at events.”
“Half a dozen of those interviewed stated that they would not attend events about political, social or human rights issues at all due to their concerns,” the report reads.
Claire, a recent graduate in Europe, told Amnesty that she would not attend events out of fear of being spotted by “Chinese nationalists.” She said those individuals could report her to Hong Kong authorities under the Hong Kong National Security Law, and she would then become a target for investigation, according to the report.
Tess, a postgraduate student in Europe, had a similar concern about being seen, according to the report.
“I’ve always chosen to be really safe and only follow [protests] online, but not participate offline. I’m more worried it would impact my family if I’m photographed at a rally,” Tess told Amnesty.
The report reads, “The repressive atmosphere faced by students interviewed by Amnesty International also impacted their willingness to pursue careers in academia. Seven students told Amnesty that the perceived need to stay away from ’sensitive' research topics to avoid repercussions had significantly limited their academic careers.”
The report illustrated the case of Hannah, a recent graduate who took a job with a nonprofit instead of pursuing a career in academia. She explained that an academic career would mean that she would become a public figure, should she decide to attend human rights conferences or publish human rights-related articles.
“When I decided not to work [in academia], it was a relief, as I wouldn’t need to struggle with whether or not to put my name on my work,” Hannah told Amnesty. “When I went to work at [a nonprofit] instead, I don’t have to put my name on anything that is released.”
Of the 32 students interviewed, more than half said they regularly self-censored when using social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and X, out of fear that Chinese officials were monitoring their activities.
Henry recounted how Chinese police had shown transcripts of his conversation on Chinese platform WeChat to his parents in order to have them convince their son to stop his overseas activities, according to the report.
‘Cease All Transnational Repressive Activities’
Amnesty researchers also found out that Chinese students, before traveling abroad, had received instructions on how they should behave overseas. The instructions “did not come directly from the government,” the report states, but “were often passed on by institutions with close links to the state, such as their teachers.”The report notes a case of a student’s mother, who got the instruction from her government employer.
“Your daughter is going to study abroad. Keep reminding your daughter that she is Chinese, she must love the government, and that she must always remember to spread the message of President Xi [Jinping] overseas,” the instruction reads, according to the report.
Ms. Brooks said the report would be able to “raise awareness, particularly to university administrations, of the experiences of some of their student body.”
“It also intends to serve as a signal to Chinese authorities that their actions against the human rights of students overseas are being witnessed and recorded,” she said.
The report offered many recommendations. To governments and the European Union, Amnesty researchers suggested that reported incidents of transnational repression “are effectively investigated by the appropriate authorities,” establishing a “trauma-informed reporting mechanism” for victims to report incidents of transnational repression and taking proactive measures to make sure universities protect and promote human rights of their communities.
As for universities hosting Chinese international students, the report recommends that schools enact “policies and codes of conduct related to transnational repression,” establish a confidential reporting mechanism, make sure students “are sufficiently informed of policies prohibiting threats against other students or staff,” and ensure that technical support is available for students who think they might become targets of digital surveillance.
The report also calls on the Chinese regime to adopt several measures, including removing restrictions on freedom of expression and revising all of its national security laws “to bring them in line with international human rights law and standards.”
“Cease all transnational repressive activities that violate the rights of students, researchers or academics overseas, including surveillance, harassment, intimidation and threats,” the report reads.
