China Arranges “Xinjiang Visits” for Uyghurs in Türkiye as Concerns Grow Over Coercion and Propaganda

By Tayor

Jan 6, 2026

The Chinese Embassy in Türkiye and the Chinese Consulate General in Istanbul have recently intensified efforts to organize so-called “Xinjiang visits” by Uyghurs and others living abroad, raising serious concerns that these trips are being used for state propaganda purposes.

According to an official statement released by the Chinese Consulate General in Istanbul, on the evening of January 3, Consul General Wei Xiaodong personally visited Istanbul Airport to see off more than 40 “ethnic minority overseas Chinese” participating in a consulate-organized group returning to Xinjiang to visit relatives. During the send-off, Wei reportedly exchanged greetings, conveyed New Year wishes, and praised Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s September visit to Xinjiang marking the 70th anniversary of the so-called Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. He claimed that Xinjiang has achieved “remarkable economic and social development” under Communist Party policies and encouraged participants to “share and promote” what they see after returning to Türkiye, presenting themselves as a bridge between China and Türkiye.

Chinese state media, including China News and other major outlets, also reported on the visit as an opportunity to showcase China’s “Xinjiang” policy.

However, many Uyghurs and human rights advocates say these visits are not voluntary and are being instrumentalized to deny well-documented human rights abuses in the Uyghur homeland. According to multiple testimonies, Chinese authorities have pressured Uyghurs abroad by forcing their parents or other family members in the Uyghur homeland to contact them and urge them to return for visits—often implying consequences if they refuse. This pressure reportedly targets even Uyghurs who have never been involved in human rights advocacy or political activity.

Yalkun Uluyol, a China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: “Uyghurs who were on these tours reported being forced to take part in propaganda activities, such as being provided a script—with pinyin, or phonetic, notations for those not fluent in Mandarin Chinese—praising the Communist Party for its policies.”

Mehmet Tohti, executive director of the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project in Canada, told Uyghur Times: “I believe this is an intentional campaign by the Chinese government aimed at whitewashing the genocide by using selected Uyghurs as propaganda tools. The Chinese government has long created Potemkin villages in cities and regions for foreign tourists and visitors to see, with the expectation that they will report back a carefully curated and misleading narrative.”

In an analysis published by Uyghur Times, Uyghur writer Alp argued that “these visits do not indicate that the oppression in the region has ended; rather, they show that China has entered a new stage of forming a ‘mask’ to hide its own crimes. True normalization will begin not through government organization, but on the day when every Uyghur can go to their homeland freely, without fear, and on their own.”

Several individuals who have participated in such visits report being interrogated upon arrival in Urumqi, including being questioned about other Uyghurs abroad and their activities. Some say they were asked to promise to report on fellow Uyghurs, to disseminate “positive narratives” about a “beautiful Xinjiang,” and to share photos and videos portraying Chinese police and authorities as benevolent and conditions as normal—material later used by Chinese state media to claim there are no restrictions on movement, no repression, and no genocide.

In a related development, on December 3, 2025, the Chinese Embassy issued a rare Uyghur-language notice titled “Notice on the Release of the Uyghur-Language Version of Passport/Travel Document Application Requirements.” The announcement outlined procedures and documentation required to apply for passports or travel documents. While presented as a service measure, activists note that Uyghur-language official notices are extremely rare and view the move as part of a broader campaign to create the appearance of normalcy and freedom of movement for Uyghurs.

China has relaxed or lifted visa restrictions for citizens of many countries in an effort to attract more visitors and tourists. On the final day of 2025, Türkiye announced that it would cancel visa requirements for Chinese citizens—a move that sparked backlash from government critics and Uyghur advocates.

“Because the Chinese state seeks to whitewash its ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs, it is leveraging total surveillance control to relax restrictions and stage choreographed ‘normalcy’ tours aimed at erasing the genocide label and refurbishing its global image as a rising superpower,” Tohti said.

Human rights groups continue to warn that these staged visits and selective administrative gestures are being used to whitewash mass surveillance, arbitrary detention, family separation, and other abuses in the Uyghur homeland, while silencing Uyghurs through fear and coercion.

Analyzing the impact of these visits, Alp wrote that they create several effects within the Uyghur diaspora:

• Internal division: fostering suspicion and friction between “those who can go” and “those who cannot,” reinforcing a “good Uyghur/bad Uyghur” dynamic.
• Self-censorship: encouraging the belief that those who avoid “politics” or stay close to the government may gain the “privilege” of seeing their homeland.
• Information warfare: spreading the false perception in Türkiye and the international community that “the situation has softened.”

“Tayor” is a shortened name adopted by a Uyghur Times staff member for the publication of this article.