Munich [Germany], November 8 (ANI): The World Uyghur Congress (WUC), in its latest weekly brief, has highlighted growing international concerns over the treatment of Uyghur refugees in Thailand, a European parliamentary resolution condemning China's persecution of Uyghurs, the extended imprisonment of Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, and revelations about China's alleged global surveillance network targeting voices on ethnic issues.
According to the WUC weekly brief, on October 31, the Coalition for the Rights of Refugees and Stateless Persons (CRSP), Migrant Working Group (MWG) and Thailand Migration Reform Consortium (TMR) issued a joint statement urging the Thai government not to forcibly return two Uyghur refugees, who have been detained since 2014, to China and instead facilitate their resettlement in a third country.
The two refugees were transferred from prison to immigration detention on October 21. Both have reportedly stated that they do not consent to being returned to China. However, their legal representatives have allegedly been denied access to them since the transfer.
The World Uyghur Congress had also issued a press release on October 29, condemning the possibility of their deportation and warning that such a move could violate Thailand's international legal obligations. The organisation urged the Thai government to uphold its responsibility to prevent complicity in the ongoing persecution of Uyghurs.
The brief further highlighted concerns following an October 27 meeting between the Chinese ambassador to Thailand and the Secretary-General of Thailand's National Security Council (NSC). The NSC official was reportedly involved in the decision that led to the deportation of 40 Uyghur refugees to China in 2025, a move subsequently ruled a human rights violation by Thailand's National Human Rights Commission.
Human rights organisations have urged the Royal Thai Government to respect the principle of non-refoulement, domestic legislation and relevant international conventions, and facilitate the voluntary resettlement of the two refugees in a third country.
The WUC weekly brief also welcomed a resolution adopted by the Parliament of Catalonia on October 29, condemning China's systematic persecution of the Uyghur people.
In a press release issued on November 2, the WUC welcomed the resolution, which recognises that more than one million Uyghurs have been subjected to mass imprisonment, forced labour and the destruction of their cultural and religious heritage.
Beyond condemning the alleged abuses, the resolution calls on European Union member states to take concrete diplomatic action and urges Catalan companies to ensure that their supply chains are free from links to forced labour in the region.
WUC President Turgunjan Alawdun said the resolution demonstrated that international solidarity must translate into concrete action, including keeping forced labour out of supply chains, protecting people fleeing persecution and pressing for accountability.
The weekly brief also drew attention to the extended imprisonment of prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner Joshua Wong following a second national security conviction.
According to the brief, on November 5, Wong received a 10-year sentence after a court convicted him in a second national security case. He was already serving a four-year-and-eight-month prison sentence and had been expected to be released in January.
Wong, who became a prominent pro-democracy activist during his teenage years and first entered prison at the age of 23, was accused of conspiring with foreign forces and conducting an anti-government social media campaign. The allegations reportedly included lobbying activities that continued after Beijing imposed the National Security Law in 2020.
The law was introduced following large-scale pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and has been widely criticised by rights advocates for its broad provisions and their impact on freedom of expression and political dissent.
The WUC described Wong's case as an example of China's escalating repression in Hong Kong and called for his immediate release, along with an end to the crackdown on the city's pro-democracy movement.
Another major development highlighted in the WUC weekly brief concerns an exposed Chinese database that allegedly reveals the country's efforts to monitor and counter international voices on ethnic issues, particularly those concerning East Turkistan and Tibet.
On October 31, cyber research group VULONE published an investigation revealing that an unencrypted database titled Key Figures Information Database for Ethnic External Propaganda had been left accessible on the public internet.
According to the investigation, the database is linked to the China Internet Information Centre (CIIC), operating under the State Council Information Office (SCIO), and functions as a system to track, map and counter international voices raising concerns about East Turkistan and Tibet.
The database reportedly contains 2,580 detailed profiles of individuals across 103 countries. These include physical addresses and online social media information of Uyghur activists, including Gulchehra Hoja, Rayhan Asat and Abdulhakim Idris, alongside UN officials, academics, investigative journalists and lawmakers.
Experts have warned that the exposure of such sensitive personal information could create serious security risks for human rights defenders and members of the Uyghur diaspora, including targeted phishing attacks and doxing.
The WUC weekly brief described the database revelations as providing further insight into China's alleged infrastructure for transnational repression, aimed at monitoring and intimidating Uyghurs and their supporters beyond China's borders.
Taken together, the developments highlighted in the World Uyghur Congress's weekly brief point to continuing international concerns over the treatment of Uyghurs, the protection of refugees, restrictions on political dissent in Hong Kong and alleged efforts to monitor human rights advocates overseas. The brief also underlines growing calls from human rights organisations and international institutions for accountability and stronger measures to protect fundamental rights and freedoms. (ANI)
WUC weekly brief highlights threats to Uyghur refugees in Thailand, international pushback against China’s repression
