Opinion: China’s Transnational Repression of the Uyghur Diaspora Intensifies in France

Dilnur Reyhan writes on how China’s transnational repression of the Uyghur diaspora is unfolding on French soil

Dilnur Reyhan

A few days before the official opening of the European Uyghur Institute, several Uyghurs in France—including Mirkamil and Abdurahman—received phone calls from Uyghur police officers working for the Chinese state. Through soft coercive methods, they attempted to force these individuals into espionage. One of the main conditions was to obtain information about the European Uyghur Institute and about me, its head.

In addition, it is clear that the Chinese Embassy in Paris exerted strong pressure on the Paris municipal government in an effort to cancel the opening ceremony of the European Uyghur Institute and to prevent politicians from attending. The ceremony had originally been scheduled for East Turkestan Republic Day, but at the last minute the mayor postponed it, citing scheduling reasons. As we did not consider holding it the following day appropriate, we rescheduled the event for January 20—the day the French Parliament recognized the Uyghur genocide—secured the approval of the municipal government, reissued invitations, and finalized arrangements. However, three days before the event, we were suddenly informed by the city government that no government representatives, including the mayor, would be able to attend, citing the upcoming municipal elections in March and the inability to participate in such events during the campaign period.

After making inquiries, we learned from various sources that election months do not in fact prevent participation in such events, and that there was a strong likelihood of pressure coming from China on the municipal government. Even so, despite this “special notice,” several officials attended: the deputy mayor who for years had worked tirelessly to secure this location for the European Uyghur Institute; Jean-Luc Romero-Michel; a representative of Emmanuel Grégoire, a candidate in the March elections; Geneviève Garrigos, the Paris city government’s human rights representative; and several deputy mayors from different districts.

France is the only country in the Western world where public support for Uyghurs has reached such a broad level—where virtually an entire generation under the age of 30 has mobilized for the Uyghur cause. Although international crises in Ukraine, Gaza, Afghanistan, and Iran have dominated global attention for years, pushing the Uyghur issue away from the main international agenda, it remains extremely rare in France—especially among young people—to find someone who knows nothing at all about the Uyghur issue. This is the result of the strategic Uyghur advocacy carried out by the European Uyghur Institute. For this reason, it is no coincidence that for years China’s attacks against Uyghurs in the West have targeted Uyghurs in France—particularly those around the European Uyghur Institute and myself.

Although the complaint filed against me by the Chinese Embassy in Paris since 2022 had been dismissed, ahead of Xi Jinping’s visit to France in May 2024, the Paris Ministry of Justice took an extraordinary step—rare in French judicial history—in an apparent attempt to curry favor with China. By a special written order, it reopened a closed case and ordered that its severity be increased. This was exposed in April 2025 by the “China Targets” investigative report, produced by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in collaboration with media outlets from 14 countries.

This time as well, by threatening Uyghurs who were helping the European Uyghur Institute with reprisals against their families back home—exploiting the most basic human social bond—China attempted to ensnare them. This demonstrates that the Chinese colonial regime aims to divide Institute members and those around them, sow mistrust among them, and render them incapable of working together. The fact that these two individuals immediately disclosed the situation first to us and then to the public shows that this primitive tool of China failed against them—and that this time, we prevailed.

These targeted attacks by China will not stop our anti-colonial struggle, nor will they succeed in turning the Uyghur diaspora against one another. On the contrary, they only prove how important the European Uyghur Institute has become, and how valuable and meaningful its work truly is. The courageous refusal of these two individuals to sell themselves to China, and their decision to place collective interests above narrow personal gain, should serve as an example for all Uyghurs in the diaspora.

This article was translated from Uyghur and originally published in the Uyghur edition of Uyghur Post.

Dilnur Reyhan is a Uyghur sociologist, human rights activist, senior researcher at the Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and the founder and president of the European Uyghur Institute.