In a report, Amnesty International refers to the Chinese government’s repressive practices against Chinese students studying abroad.

Students from China and Hong Kong, studying in universities in Europe and North America, are thousands of kilometers away from their country. Even so far, however, they are not completely safe. “We are being watched. And they can even reach us on the other side of the planet,” says Rowan (her real name is another) to the human rights organization Amnesty International.

Rowan is one of 32 people interviewed by Amnesty for the report “On my campus, I am afraid”. The participants are students in eight different countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada and the USA. To protect the students, both their identities and their universities remain anonymous.

Threats against families in China

Commemorations have been banned in China for June 4, 1989, the day the Tiananmen Square protests took place – and were drowned in blood. Where Rowan studies, however, at some point such a memorial event took place, in which the student also participated. Just a few hours later, her father, who lives in China, informed her that he had been approached by security officials and told that he must prevent his daughter from participating in events that harm China’s reputation. Meanwhile, Rowan had not told anyone her name, nor had she spoken to anyone about her participation in the event.

These practices of the Chinese government are also known to DW, which has also spoken to Chinese students in Europe. And one of them had stated that before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Paris, the Chinese authorities had threatened those who wanted to organize demonstrations and had visited their families in China. As it turns out, this is a frequent and recurring phenomenon. “It is not acceptable to express yourself freely abroad,” that is the message. “Wherever you are, in Germany, France or elsewhere, there is no way to escape China’s surveillance system.”

Theresa Bergman, Asia specialist at Amnesty International’s German branch, told DW that relatives in China “are receiving threats that their passports will be canceled, they will be fired from their jobs, their pensions will be cut or restrict their access to education if overseas students continue to behave like this.” And these threats come from the Chinese government apparatus itself.

These are not isolated incidents

Amnesty International reports that there are many Chinese and Hong Kong students abroad who live in fear of being watched or threatened by the authorities. The organization, of course, cannot ascertain whether this applies to all of the estimated 900,000 or so Chinese students studying abroad. However, the stories of the interviewees are almost identical and match the already known corresponding cases.

A Human Rights Watch report from 2021 cited threats and surveillance of Chinese students in Australia, while in 2022 the humanitarian organization Safeguard Defender spoke of illegal Chinese police units overseas, acting against dissident Chinese nationals. China, of course, denies the accusations.

Tracks through the WeChat platform

The monitoring of students is often done online as well, through an app called WeChat, which is believed to be forwarding user data to the Chinese government.

There are cases where posts or accounts are blocked on WeChat because the respective user has spoken positively about a demonstration. And such apps as WeChat, which have been approved by the Chinese regime, are a one-way street for students who want to communicate with relatives and friends in China.

The psychological effects are serious

Students therefore live in fear and the psychological effects of this condition vary, reaching even depression. “I asked for support from my university’s psychological counseling service, but there is no particular understanding of the Chinese case, so I didn’t get any real support,” one student told DW.

Bergman points out that there are also some students who, in order to protect themselves, cut off contact with their families. Around half of Amnesty International’s survey participants are afraid to return home – six of them want to seek asylum in the country where they are studying.

Thus the students end up self-censoring and isolating themselves, as the expert explains. In addition, they are often unsure whether they can trust other Chinese students, as one of them might report to the authorities. In Hong Kong, for example, there is a 24-hour hotline where one can report someone suspected of breaching security legislation.

Amnesty International’s reaction

Amnesty International is calling on China and Hong Kong to end all forms of repression against their nationals abroad, as well as to change laws that restrict the fundamental rights of overseas students.

It is important that measures are also taken by the universities and governments of the host countries. According to Bergman, there are signs that the authorities recognize the problem, but overall there is still a lot that needs to be done.

Amnesty is also calling for the creation of psychological support services for Chinese students, both at university and state level. And especially in universities, students should have access to psychological support, counseling services and financial aid. With regard to Germany in particular, “the country has an obligation to protect students from abroad”, as Yulia Duchrov, Secretary General at Amnesty International Germany points out.

The hope that China will become democratic

Despite the personal risk they take, many Chinese students do not lose hope that China could become a democracy.

“I will focus on human rights issues and hope that my country will change for the better,” one student told DW. And there are many who think like him.

Edited by: Giorgos Passas