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Japan urged to investigate China’s transnational repression operating in the country

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(TibetanReview.net, Oct11’24) – As the exile Tibetan administration advised overseas Tibetans not to submit or even remain silent but report and publicize when subjected to transnational repression by China, New York-based Human Rights Watch has issued a report Oct 9, saying people from Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and other places in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) living in Japan had been subjected to such repression in recent times.

The report said that interviews with 25 people, including from Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia, revealed that Chinese police or the Chinese Embassy in Japan had contacted them or their relatives in the PRC, pressuring them to end their activities in Japan.

The interviewees were stated to have participated in nonviolent activities, such as organizing public events to draw attention to human rights abuses in Xinjiang, promoting Tibetan culture, and hosting book discussions featuring works by Inner Mongolian activists.

The group has urged the Japanese government to call on China to end its surveillance and threats against those living in Japan.

It has also urged Japan to establish a system to report such incidents and provide protection.

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The group, which has posted its report on its hrw.org website, said a woman was arrested in 2023 upon returning to Hong Kong for posting pro-democratic comments online during her studies in Japan, while another individual who promoted Tibetan culture in Japan was told to return to Tibet to renew their passport.

Also, a man from Xinjiang has said that when he received a call from a relative asking him to return home, a police officer came on the line and told him he “could not guarantee what would happen to your family” unless he complied with the relative’s request. He was later contacted on a messaging app by a police officer telling him to provide information about activists in Japan, Human Rights Watch said.

A person from Taiwan who had participated in activism related to Hong Kong while in a third country has reported having received multiple invitations from the Chinese embassy to go and “retrieve important documents”. The person was stated to have declined the offer, fearing detention or reprisal.

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China has previously been reported to have set up illegal police stations, disguised as facilitation centres for overseas Chinese, in a number of countries to carry out its transnational repression. When exposed, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press conference, “All our actions are carried out in accordance with laws and regulations.”

Teppei Kasai, Asia program officer at Human Rights Watch, has said, “Japan should promptly establish a national system to investigate cases of transnational repression with appropriate safeguards for individuals’ privacy.”

On Oct 7, the exile Tibetan administration, known as the Central Tibetan Administration, based in Dharamshala, India, called the Chinese government’s conduct a violation of international law. It urged anyone who come under such pressure to publicize it before the media with proof thereof. It also suggested that such targeted Tibetans should report the same with all the relevant details to their concerned host governments, or the CTA Representative offices, or Settlement Heads, or the Department of Security, as the case may be.

The call was part of a nine-point guideline for overseas Tibetans desiring to visit Tibet and China.

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