Bowing to Beijing, Thailand Deports 40 Uyghur Asylum Seekers to China

The government of Thailand forcibly repatriated at least 40 individuals from China’s beleaguered Uyghur community on February 27, where they will likely face torture at the hands of Chinese Communist Party operatives.

• These Uyghur men had fled Xinjiang, China, in 2014 as the Chinese Communist Party began a crackdown on their region that included detaining hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs in concentration camps.
• In the camps, Uyghurs suffer extreme abuse, including torture, rape and death.
• As a United States ally, Thailand was expected to give these Uyghurs asylum or arrange to get them to another safe country.
• Instead, Thai officials refused to give the United Nations high commissioner for refugees access to the Uyghurs, and they have now been sent back to Xinjiang.

‘At grave risk’: Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said, “China’s horrific record of abuses against Uyghurs and its pressure on Thailand to take custody of these men are a cause of the gravest concern for their well-being.” She continued:

These men are now at grave risk of being tortured, forcibly disappeared, and detained for long periods by the Chinese government.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement about Thailand’s decision:

We condemn in the strongest possible terms Thailand’s forced return of at least 40 Uyghurs to China, where they lack due process rights and where Uyghurs have faced persecution, forced labor and torture. As Thailand’s long-standing ally, we are alarmed by this action ….

Chinese domination: Thailand’s move shows China is increasingly dominating Asian countries, including U.S. allies such as Thailand, to a degree that has taken many analysts by surprise. This trend is setting the stage for an alliance of Asian nations that will shake the world.

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