Amnesty International has released a report detailing the harassment and surveillance experienced by Chinese and Hong Kong students studying in European universities as a result of their activism against the Chinese government. The students reported being followed, photographed, and monitored during demonstrations and protests, as well as online. Additionally, their family members back in China were targeted and threatened by police because of the students’ activism abroad. The report is based on interviews with 30 Chinese and 12 Hong Kong students studying in various EU member states, Switzerland, the UK, and Canada. These students live in constant fear of intimidation, harassment, and surveillance by Beijing authorities.
The Chinese government has been increasingly cracking down on human rights activism abroad, which is impacting the academic freedom of Chinese and Hong Kong students studying in European universities. The findings of the report by Amnesty International highlight the serious threat to the free exchange of ideas on campus and call on governments and universities to take action to counter this phenomenon. The report comes in the wake of revelations by Safeguard Defenders about the Chinese Communist Party abducting overseas citizens on EU territory and using police offices across EU countries to pressure dissidents to return to China.
One student, referred to as Rowan to protect her identity, was attending a commemoration of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre when her father in China was contacted by security agents. The agents instructed him to prevent his daughter from attending events that could harm China’s reputation, despite her not revealing her name or posting online from the protest. Nearly a third of the students interviewed reported that their families had been harassed by Chinese authorities in retaliation for their criticism or dissent. Some family members faced threats of passport suspensions, retirement benefit cuts, job dismissals, and pressure to stop financially supporting their children abroad.
Amnesty International has raised concerns about China’s advanced technological censorship capabilities, which put students at risk of having their conversations tapped into, especially when communicating with relatives and friends in China. With an estimated 900,000 Chinese students studying abroad, the organization emphasized the need for governments and universities to enhance efforts to protect these students. Host countries have a legal obligation to protect foreign students, but schools in Europe and North America are often unaware of and unprepared to address transnational repression and its impact on their campuses. Amnesty called for greater awareness and action to safeguard the rights and safety of Chinese and Hong Kong students studying overseas.
Euronews reached out to the Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the European Union for a response to Amnesty’s research and will update the article upon receiving a response. The report sheds light on the systematic tactics employed by Chinese authorities to control nationals remotely, creating a climate of fear and censorship that extends beyond China’s borders. By targeting students and their families, the Chinese government aims to restrict fundamental rights and stifle dissent. The international community must work together to protect the rights and safety of Chinese and Hong Kong students studying abroad, ensuring that academic freedom is upheld and respected.
