Xi Jinping Faces Scrutiny as Calls for Accountability Arise

Xi Jinping (People News)

[People News] The alarming rise in cross-border suppression cases by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has drawn serious attention from nine UN human rights working groups and special rapporteurs. They have jointly addressed a letter to CCP leader Xi Jinping, explicitly highlighting the CCP's violations of various human rights and demanding an explanation. The relevant working groups may refer these cases to the UN for further action, urging Beijing to cease its suppression efforts.

As reported by Radio France Internationale, the signatories of the joint letter include three working groups focused on 'arbitrary detention', 'forced or involuntary disappearances', and 'discrimination against women and girls', along with six special rapporteurs who are experts tasked with reporting to the UN on issues such as the protection of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, freedom of religion or belief, the situation of human rights defenders, minority rights, and torture.

In their joint letter, the working groups and experts expressed particular concern over the 40 Uyghurs who were forcibly repatriated earlier this year and subsequently 'disappeared' upon their return to China. Additionally, human rights lawyer Lu Siwei was arrested in Laos in August 2023 and, after being sent back to China in mid-September, was sentenced to 11 months in prison for 'illegal border crossing' in April 2025 without a public trial.

The joint letter highlights a concerning pattern of coordination, tacit approval, and collaboration between Beijing and other governments in the cross-border suppression of human rights defenders and dissenters. Experts warn that this could lead to a chilling effect, making the public hesitant to freely express their opinions or engage in social movements.

Furthermore, the working group and experts are alarmed by the situation of several Hong Kong advocates living overseas. In addition to being wanted by the Hong Kong government with a reward of one million Hong Kong dollars, they and their families are experiencing transnational repression from the Hong Kong authorities. For instance, two relatives of Guo Fengyi (郭鳳儀), the executive director of the non-governmental organisation 'Hong Kong Democracy Council', have been detained and questioned for allegedly assisting her in her overseas activities. Her father faces charges of 'handling finances for fugitives' and is currently awaiting trial, with a potential maximum sentence of seven years. Similarly, advocates Liu Jiawen (劉珈汶) and Xu Yingting (許穎婷), who are also wanted with a reward of one million Hong Kong dollars, have had their family members taken by the Hong Kong police for questioning. Additionally, a neighbour of Liu Jiawen in the UK received a flyer with a Hong Kong stamp, urging reports to the Hong Kong government or the Chinese embassy in the UK regarding her, in order to claim the reward.

The joint letter also notes that after the Hong Kong government froze the assets of former Legislative Council member Xu Zhifeng (許智峰) and his family in Hong Kong, someone sent forged flyers to a mosque near his home, branding him as a 'pro-Israel, anti-Islam lawyer', which seems intended to incite hostility. His law firm in Adelaide has also received flyers soliciting information for the reward.

Experts assert that the methods of repression targeting overseas Hong Kong advocates are consistent, with the aim of deterring, silencing, or punishing dissent expressed abroad.

The joint letter calls on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to explain its use of the Hong Kong National Security Law and the National Security (Enforcement) Ordinance against several overseas advocates from Hong Kong, as well as the reasons for the travel restrictions placed on Lu Siwei and the nature of his non-public trial.

Additionally, nine human rights organisations have requested that the CCP provide details about its cooperation with third countries and extradition agreements, clarifying how it prevents the risks of deportees facing enforced disappearances, torture, or other serious human rights abuses. These organisations have also sent similar letters to the governments of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Laos, and Thailand, with copies sent to Australia and the United Kingdom.

Before the Beijing government offers a clear response, the aforementioned human rights organisations and commissioners have stressed the importance of urging the Beijing government to implement all necessary interim measures to protect the victims mentioned in the letter from experiencing similar violations again.

Reports suggest that the joint letter was delivered to Chinese President Xi Jinping in late July and, in accordance with protocol, will be published on the website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights two months after its submission.

Foreign media have noted that Xi Jinping is a strongman leader, and under his rule, the CCP has been actively expanding its influence internationally. They have set up police stations in foreign countries, offered rewards for the capture of critics who have fled abroad, pressured overseas Chinese to act as informants, and ensured that exiled individuals are detained or deported.

The CCP's transnational repression: Global strategies and operational methods revealed

On April 28, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published a transnational investigation titled 'China's Targets,' exposing the global framework and operational tactics of the CCP's repression machinery.

This investigation spanned 10 months, during which the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) collaborated with 42 media outlets worldwide to interview 105 individuals targeted by the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) transnational crackdown across 23 countries. Some of these individuals faced suppression merely for discussing topics that the CCP considers taboo, such as the brutal persecution of Falun Gong.

The CCP's persecution of Falun Gong has persisted for 26 years and has extended beyond China's borders. Currently, the Beijing authorities have intensified their transnational repression tactics overseas, employing information warfare, legal warfare, and even resorting to violence and death threats, which challenge the sovereignty and institutional integrity of democratic nations.

Louisa Greve, the global advocacy director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project, a human rights research and advocacy organisation, and former vice president of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a U.S. think tank, recently stated in an interview with The Epoch Times that the CCP has been engaging in transnational repression against Falun Gong for many years.

Since January 2025, the organiser of the Falun Gong parade in New York, the Global Service Centre for Quitting the CCP, has received seven threatening emails containing bomb threats. These threats included references to placing homemade explosives, detonating bombs, shooting, and driving into crowds. Some of the IP addresses associated with these emails indicate that they originated from mainland China.

The investigation report discloses that documents from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have established a systematic model of repression that continues to be employed against overseas dissidents today. One example is 'family influence,' which involves applying pressure on the target's family to compel the target to cease their activities. Another method is referred to as 'pulling up the ladder,' which prohibits activists from returning to the country from abroad. Additionally, there is 'cutting off oxygen,' which aims to diminish the target's income and control their bank accounts. Other tactics include fostering suspicion and distrust among dissidents, conducting internet surveillance, and 'making it impossible for them to communicate with the outside world,' as well as investigating the target's 'immoral behaviour.' The documents assert, 'No one is a saint, and no one is immune from error.' 

The investigation further reveals that under Xi Jinping's leadership, the United Nations headquarters in Geneva has turned into a hostile environment. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) analysed 106 UN-accredited Chinese non-governmental organisations and discovered that 59 of them are closely linked to the CCP, actively harassing individuals who attempt to criticise Beijing's policies within the Human Rights Council. 

Moreover, the CCP has misused Interpol's red notices to pursue dissidents, Uyghur rights advocates, and business figures, contravening the organisation's regulations against political exploitation. 

Recently, there has been a surge of statements from the U.S. Congress and State Department, 53 Canadian parliamentarians, the UK Foreign Office, and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), which encompasses over thirty countries, declaring that the CCP's cross-border persecution actions are 'unacceptable.' U.S. lawmakers have explicitly stated that the nature of these actions amounts to international organised crime, demanding that 'the perpetrators be held accountable.'

In February this year, data published by Freedom House revealed that there are expected to be 160 incidents of transnational repression related to human rights in 2024, involving 23 different regimes. The Chinese Communist Party (Zhongguo Gongchandang) has been identified as the leading perpetrator of transnational repression, maintaining the top position in this record of human rights violations for ten consecutive years.

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