Amnesty: Repression against Chinese students abroad grows

Students from China and Hong Kong living in Europe and North America are being repressed by the government in Beijing, according to a new Amnesty International report. Students in Germany have also been affected.

Students from China and Hong Kong who are studying at European or North American universities may be far away from home, but they are also menacingly within reach of their home governments. The message we get, Chinese student Rowan* told the human rights organization Amnesty International is: “You are being watched, and though we are on the other side of the planet, we can still reach you.”

Rowan is one of 32 students Amnesty interviewed for its report entitled “On My Campus, I Am Afraid.” Researchers sought to document China’s transnational repression at universities and spoke with Chinese students in eight countries: Belgium, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada and the United States. The real names of all individuals and universities have been withheld in order to protect their identities.