Surveillance, spying, restrictions on freedom of expression: the long arm of the Chinese government extends all the way to Switzerland. The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) drew attention to this problem with a petition back in 2018. Now a Federal Council report commissioned by Parliament confirms that Tibetans and Uyghurs are inadequately protected from transnational repression in Switzerland. Measures are now urgently needed to better protect diaspora communities from surveillance and repression by foreign actors.
It is alarming that the People’s Republic of China is able to exert pressure on diaspora communities on Swiss soil and that it is trying to prevent people from demonstrating, for example. This undermines Switzerland’s obligation to protect its inhabitants from repression.
On February 12, 2025, the Federal Council published a long-awaited report on the situation of the Tibetan and Uyghur diaspora. In it, the Federal Council confirms that the human rights situation in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has deteriorated massively in recent years and that Tibetans and Uyghurs in Switzerland are affected by transnational repression. The Federal Council report is based on a study by the University of Basel, requested by the Federal Office of Justice and the State Secretariat for Migration, which shows how Tibetan and Uyghur community members in Switzerland are systematically monitored, threatened and persecuted by PRC actors and what restrictive consequences this has for those affected.
The STP and its partner organizations have been drawing attention to the problem since 2018. Switzerland must finally act: The affected communities must be better protected, cases must be systematically documented and the authorities must be trained in dealing with those affected, demands STP.
Threat of transnational repression
In its 2023 situation report, the Federal Intelligence Service confirms that the threat from Chinese spies remains high, and explicitly also mentions the threat of transnational repression of exile communities. Switzerland is doing too little to counter this: The STP has found that since the intensification of economic relations with China, the Swiss authorities’ support of the local Tibetan and Uyghur communities has noticeably decreased. Already in a 2018 report, the STP demonstrated that Tibetans in Switzerland were being increasingly affected by Chinese surveillance, and that their freedom of expression was being restricted. The STP demands that Switzerland protect its citizens and only expand the existing free trade agreement with China if human rights are explicitly incorporated.
Habibulla Haliq, a Uyghur, had to flee China to take refuge in Switzerland. But even here, he is not safe from persecution.
The long arm of China
It is a fact that the People’s Republic of China exerts influence in Switzerland through various channels, in order to exploit members of the Tibetan and Uyghur communities, and to put pressure on them. For the Chinese Communist Party and head of state Xi Jinping, maintaining internal stability and keeping the party in power is the top priority. The self-determination and cultural identity of Tibetans and Uyghurs are a particularly serious threat in the eyes of the Chinese government. That is why the Chinese regime monitors and suppresses criticism from these communities, as well as their political activities, not only at home, but also abroad – even in Switzerland.
This transnational repression can manifest itself in various ways: Threatening phone calls from China, with demands that the call recipient spy on their own community, or with warnings about the safety of family members still living in the People’s Republic of China. Or suspected representatives of the Chinese embassy who very visibly take photographs of demonstrators critical of China and use this material to try to prevent Tibetans or Uyghurs from publicly voicing criticism.
The extent of the problem only becomes apparent when the totality of all such individual cases is considered: The influence of the Chinese government in this country is now so great that a climate of fear prevails in the local Tibetan and Uyghur communities. Concerns about the safety of family members in China mean that Tibetans and Uyghurs in Switzerland even allow themselves to be censored or take the precaution of breaking off contact with family members in the People’s Republic of China, so as not to put them in danger. Also due to such concerns, quite a few no longer dare to take part in demonstrations or to be quoted by name in the media.
The case of Gulbahar Haitiwaji, a Uyghur woman who has fled to France, shows how justified these concerns are. During her 2022 visit to Switzerland, which was organised by the STP, this survivor of China’s so-called ‘re-education camps’ explained what had led to her imprisonment: a single photo of her daughter at a Uyghur demonstration in Paris. This story shows, by way of example, how Tibetans and Uyghurs can face dire consequences when they exercise their rights.
From individual cases to a pattern: How those affected are spied on and threatened by China
- “For over 30 years, the Communist Party has been using all possible means to try to bring me back to China, to buy my services as a spy, or to silence me”: Blick article on Uyghur Kerim Sharif
- The Buddhist monk and human rights activist Golog Jigme has been living in Switzerland as a political refugee since January 2015. In an NZZ article, he explains why he feels under surveillance.
What a petition has triggered
The new federal report on the situation of the Tibetan and Uyghur diaspora in Switzerland stems from a petition submitted to the Federal Council and Parliament by Tibet organisations and the STP in September 2018. On the basis of this petition, two postulates from the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council (FAC-NC) followed: The committee called for an evaluation of the human rights dialogue with China and a detailed report on the situation of Tibetans in Switzerland. The mandate was later broadened to include the Uyghur community in Switzerland as well.
Rights for Tibetans. Photo: Franziska Rothenbühler © Franziska Rothenbuehler
In einer Petition fordert die Gesellschaft fr bedrohte Voelker gemeinsam mit dem Uigurischen Verein Schweiz und Campax, dass die Schweiz das Freihandelsabkommen mit China neu verhandelt Franziska Rothenbuehler
The human rights situation in the People’s Republic of China
Federal Council confirms deterioration
In its report, the Federal Council confirms that the human rights situation in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has deteriorated dramatically in recent years. Political power has been centralised, while social control and internal repression have been stepped up. With regard to the Tibetan and Uyghur communities in the PRC, the report notes that these are being subjected to intrusive security checks, as well as a policy of re-education, sinicisation and indoctrination. Surveillance, restrictions on freedom of expression, and the suppression of culture and religion are part of everyday life.
Human rights violations in East Turkestan (in Chinese: Xinjiang)
The Federal Council also cites a UN report that describes the situation in Xinjiang as extremely serious. According to that report, the Chinese authorities have been pursuing a comprehensive policy of internment, forced labour and forced displacement against the Uyghurs for several years. This involves massive human rights violations, such as systematic deprivation of liberty, encroachment on privacy, reduced freedom of movement, surveillance, curtailment of religious freedom, re-education, torture and forced sterilisation. An increase in arrests and long-term prison sentences in Xinjiang is also reported.
The STP’s response
The STP welcomes the fact that the Federal Council recognises and clearly identifies the human rights violations against the Tibetan and Uyghur communities in the PRC. This makes it all the more unfathomable that the Swiss government is negotiating an expansion of Switzerland’s free trade agreement with the People’s Republic of China, in which there is not a single word about human rights. In everything that Switzerland does, it has a duty to protect human rights. This duty to protect is particularly important in economic relations with the People’s Republic of China. For the STP, it is clear that human rights come before profit!
Transnational repression in Switzerland
Study confirms transnational repression
The Federal Council’s report confirms that transnational repression is indeed taking place on Swiss territory. The report is based on a study by the University of Basel, which was commissioned by the Federal Office of Justice and the State Secretariat for Migration as a result of an STP petition. The study shows in detail the forms of transnational repression (TNR) that are being practised in Switzerland. These include refugee espionage, co-optation, repatriation under pressure and coercion, pressurising messages, observation, photography, communications surveillance, cyber-attacks, and even moderate physical violence. However, the Federal Council report focuses too one-sidedly on two types of repression (espionage and co-optation) within the Tibetan and Uyghur diaspora. That is problematic because, in an oversimplified form, it can lead to the problem being diverted away from the Chinese state, and instead placed on the shoulders of the Tibetans and Uyghurs who, often under intense pressure, allow themselves to be co-opted. This results in a kind of victim-perpetrator reversal. The STP maintains that the Chinese state is responsible for this transnational repression.
Threat to the Swiss rule of law
The Federal Council report makes clear that transnational repression is not only a problem for the directly affected individuals and communities, but in the long term, also jeopardises fundamental rights, the Swiss rule of law and international law-based order. If Tibetans and Uyghurs in Switzerland have to fear for their safety or the safety of their relatives in China and are therefore no longer able to exercise their basic democratic rights such as freedom of expression or freedom of assembly, if Tibetan and Uyghur associations and allied NGOs in Switzerland are being subjected to surveillance and cyber-attacks by the Chinese state, if Swiss authorities are being put under pressure by the Chinese not to approve certain events and demonstrations – this makes it clear that transnational repression is a problem for us all, and the Federal Council urgently needs to act!
These are the demands of the Society for Threatened Peoples:
- Definition: Switzerland should establish a definition of the phenomenon of ‘transnational repression’ at national level, and possibly even in law, so as to raise awareness of this complex problem and to pave the way for the authorities to take action against it.
- Legislative measures: Switzerland must establish a clear definition of transnational repression and create an appropriate legal basis, on which to combat it successfully. This is because transnational repression takes effect in a legal grey area. The Federal Council must prosecute criminal offences against Uyghurs and Tibetans, and create instruments with which to effectively combat restrictions on fundamental rights!
- Collection of cases: The STP calls for systematic documentation of cases. Every case must be registered, regardless of whether it involves any criminality. This requires counselling, reporting and protection centres for those affected, as well as awareness-raising and training for the authorities most likely to come into contact with affected persons.
- Asylum and protection status: Simpler asylum procedures for vulnerable people and support during their integration are required. Their isolated and precarious situation during a lengthy asylum process makes them particularly vulnerable to cross-border intimidation attempts.
- Incorporation of those affected: The voices of Tibetans and Uyghurs must be heard and reinforced in political decision-making processes. Tangible measures must be taken to address the reality of what they are experiencing – and these measures must be easy to implement in everyday life. This applies, for example, to the acquisition of travel documents and to asylum processes.
- Digital security training: Training is needed for human rights defenders and activists, so as to educate them about digital security practices and protect them from surveillance.
- Education: Training is needed for police and other officials (e.g. at SEM) who are most likely to come into contact with those affected by transnational repression. In addition, potential victims need to be informed about their options, how they can effectively defend themselves and where they can get support.
- Deportation of spies: Switzerland must not only publicly make clear that it does not tolerate transnational repression. Exposed agents of the (Chinese) government who put pressure on the diaspora in this country must consistently be deported.
- Diplomatic pressure: By means of public and diplomatic efforts, Switzerland must call on state perpetrators of transnational repression to refrain from exerting pressure on diaspora communities in Switzerland. The Federal Council’s promise to address transnational repression in Switzerland’s human rights dialogue with China is completely inadequate. This exchange behind closed doors is ineffective and acts as a fig leaf, allowing human rights to be excluded from the important negotiations.
- International cooperation: Switzerland should orient itself towards the best practices of other countries, such as the USA, Canada, Sweden or Germany, and take part in international efforts to counter transnational repression. After all, according to the study commissioned by the Federal Council, transnational repression exists in all countries where Tibetan and Uyghur communities are present.
- Free trade with China: In August 2024, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council called for the report’s findings to be integrated into the negotiations on the free trade agreement. Switzerland must not expand its free trade agreement with the People’s Republic of China unless human rights are substantially incorporated.
