Tibetans And Uyghurs In Switzerland Fear Long Arm Of China

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) A study commissioned by the Swiss government shows that China is engaged in intimidating Tibetans and Uyghurs in the Alpine nation. The authorities have yet to announce what measures they will take following these findings.

This content was published on February 17, 2025 - 11:05 9 minutes Samanta Siegfried

• Deutsch de So überwacht China die tibetischen und uigurischen Minderheiten in der Schweiz Original Read more: So überwacht China die tibetischen und uigurischen Minderheiten in der Schwei
• Français fr Comment la Chine surveille les minorités tibétaine et ouïghoure en Suisse Read more: Comment la Chine surveille les minorités tibétaine et ouïghoure en Suiss
• Italiano it Come la Cina sorveglia le minoranze tibetane e uigure in Svizzera Read more: Come la Cina sorveglia le minoranze tibetane e uigure in Svizzer
• 日本語 ja スイス亡命のチベット人・ウイグル人を中国が監視、スイス政府報告書 Read more: スイス亡命のチベット人・ウイグル人を中国が監視、スイス政府報告
• 中文 zh 瑞士公开一份爆炸性调查报告:中国在瑞士对藏族和维吾尔族人施压 Read more: 瑞士公开一份爆炸性调查报告:中国在瑞士对藏族和维吾尔族人施
• Русский ru Как Китай следит за тибетской и уйгурской диаспорами в Швейцарии Read more: Как Китай следит за тибетской и уйгурской диаспорами в Швейцари

It's a world first: a national government has commissioned a study on the extent to which communities in exile on its territory are subject to surveillance and intimidation by China. The task went to Ralph Weber and his team at the Institute of European Global Studies at the University of Basel.

The studyExternal link focuses on violations of basic rights and systematic pressure applied by the Chinese Communist regime on the Tibetan and Uyghur communities in Switzerland between the year 2000 and the present. Both attempted violations and those actually carried out were studied.

The report comes to a clear conclusion. Members of the Tibetan and Uyghur diaspora are being monitored, threatened, and even pressured to return to China by agents of the People's Republic. This transnational repression, as it is being called, can involve various approaches. Often it takes the form of threatening phone calls from China demanding that the person concerned spy on their own community or making pointed allusions to the safety of family members still living on Chinese territory.

Demonstration in front of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne at the start of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, February 3, 2022. Afp Or Licensors

Tibetans in particular also feel that Swiss authorities curtail their basic rights, such as when demonstrations in front of parliament in Bern are restricted or asylum practices become more restrictive. These views were expressed not just by those who are politically exposed. The researchers based their findings in part on interviews conducted with 60 people.

Approach used by the study

“As the person commissioned to do this study, I approached the question with an open mind,” says lead author and China expert Weber.“We just wanted to get to the facts. Looking back, I can only say that what we found was to be expected.”

More More Tibetans and Uyghurs in Switzerland face pressure from China

This content was published on Feb 12, 2025 Tibetans and Uyghurs living in Switzerland are probably under pressure from China and are being encouraged to spy on their community, according to the Swiss government.

Read more: Tibetans and Uyghurs in Switzerland face pressure from Chin

He and his team began by compiling existing international studies and cases of repression of the two communities. They then investigated the extent to which these subversions of human rights were happening in Switzerland too. Just as elsewhere in Europe,“dozens of agents of the security services” of the People's Republic of China are active in the Alpine nation. They often disguise themselves as embassy or consulate staff.

The report also gives examples of pressure exerted on Swiss authorities by China. But the authors weren't able to assess how successful these efforts have been. The study does conclude that local authorities are often less intimidated than their national counterparts.

One consequence of transnational repression by China, Weber points out, is that it undermines trust within exile communities and can lead to division.“We have found that many people in the Tibetan community in Switzerland suspect other members of the diaspora are working for 'the Chinese',” says the expert. This mistrust is particularly high towards those who have only recently come to Switzerland, as they still have family in Tibet and are therefore more vulnerable to pressure tactics.

More More When Switzerland was the location of choice for Chinese espionage

This content was published on Feb 21, 2023 In the 1960s Switzerland was at the centre of a global Chinese espionage network.

Read more: When Switzerland was the location of choice for Chinese espionag

“We don't want our report to add to this atmosphere of mistrust”, says Weber. The pressure coming from agents of the Chinese regime is already creating a climate of fear among the people exposed to it. It is nevertheless important to recognise, he adds, that the situations are often complex, and there may be different actors involved with all kinds of different motivations.“Contacts with Chinese officials are by no means proof that the person concerned is on the side of China or acting as an informer,” he says.

Weber believes the government, which issued a reportExternal link on the study findings, should act. The report condemns violations of the rights of communities in exile and lists planned responses, including greater care in choosing interpreters for asylum hearings. In the past there have been suggestions that some of these interpreters might have been informers. It also calls for awareness-raising among all authorities at federal, cantonal and municipal levels, so they can identify and respond to such activities.

However, the government remains vague on how Switzerland intends to confront China with these findings. It simply refers to the“dialogue on human rights” that Switzerland and China have held since 1991. This dialogue is often criticised as mere tokenism.“Those affected have said again and again that basic rights such as freedom of expression are increasingly being restricted in favour of economic interests,” says Weber.“That should worry us as a liberal democracy.”

Kai Reusser/swissinfo Views of campaigners

The study has a long history. It began with a petition from the Swiss NGO Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) in 2018, which called for a report on whether ethnic groups repressed in China are having their basic rights curtailed in Switzerland as well. The foreign policy committee of the House of Representatives then called on the government to come up with a detailed report on the situation of Tibetans and Uyghurs in the country.

For the STP, the actions proposed by the government are not enough. In a statement, it calls for a clear definition of what constitutes transnational repression and for Switzerland to adopt appropriate legislation to counter it effectively. It also calls for a reporting and advocacy office to be set up, and for those affected to be consulted in political decision-making. The Swiss government, it says, needs to expose the offences publicly and expel the perpetrators.

Switzerland is not the only country with this problem. Transnational repression appears to be on the rise globally. The phenomenon has grown thanks to digitalisation and artificial intelligence. Zumretay Arkin, vice-president of the World Uyghur Congress in Munich, tells SWI swissinfo:“Practically every Uyghur in exile has experienced some kind of repression at the hands of the Chinese government. It can be anything from phone calls from Chinese police and attempts to block international travel, to arrest, imprisonment or even deportation to China.”

More More The complicated path to avoiding cotton from Xinjiang

This content was published on Jan 4, 2023 Chinese cotton is suspected to be largely harvested under duress, especially by Uyghurs.

Read more: The complicated path to avoiding cotton from Xinjian

One challenge is that those affected are used to these tactics and fail to protest.“For many of us it is part of everyday life to be spied on, so it hardly occurs to anyone to report it,” says Arkin. Police forces in other countries are often not particularly well-informed of the situation and incidents are hard to prove.

David Missal of the German NGO Tibet Initiative Deutschland confirms this. Apart from the diaspora communities themselves, governments and elected officials must become aware of the issue.“So far there has been no response to this at the political level,” he says.“We would like there to be state-sponsored resources for victims of transnational repression, which would also provide psychological and legal assistance.” Missal would like to see German authorities carry out a similar study to that of the Swiss.

Sensitive diplomatic context

Weber does give Switzerland some credit:“That the Swiss government, which is known for its understated position in dealing with China, commissioned such a study is worthy of note in itself.”

Admittedly, the government took its time to release the report. The study was completed in April 2024, and publication was postponed a few times.“I can imagine this was a sensitive report, and there were a few questions that officials wanted time to consider,” he says. According to an investigation by Tamedia newspapers, there was disagreement at the top about how to handle the“troubling findings” of the study.

MENAFN17022025000210011054ID1109216463