Uyghur and Hong Kong Groups Urge Irish Government to Confront Wang Yi on Transnational Repression

Uyghur and Hong Kong communities in Ireland urge Irish government to confront China’s transnational repression during Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s Dublin visit.

By Uyghur Times Staff
February 18, 2025

Uyghur and Hong Kong communities in Ireland have called on the Irish government to address transnational repression with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to Dublin.

Wang, a Politburo member of the Chinese Communist Party, is set to meet Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris after attending the Munich Security Conference. Advocacy groups are urging Irish leaders to demand concrete actions from China regarding its persecution of dissidents, including surveillance and harassment of Uyghurs and Hongkongers in Ireland.

In a joint statement, the Irish Uyghur Cultural Association and Hong Kong advocacy groups highlighted fears among their communities, stating that many feel unsafe due to potential retaliation from Beijing. They pointed to recent cases of repression, including the detention of an exiled activist’s family members in Hong Kong.

In a statement, groups representing Uyghurs and Hongkongers living in Ireland called on Mr. Martin and Mr. Harris to:

“demand concrete actions with respect to acts of transnational repression, genocide, and politically motivated imprisonment perpetrated by the People’s Republic of China [PRC].”

“It is a matter of Ireland’s security as much as it is about the security of [the] person and freedoms of speech, of thought, of assembly being impeded on Irish soil when it comes to dissidents of the Chinese state.”

“We do not feel we can openly exercise our right to protest, for fear of retribution by the regime to our family members back home or within Ireland itself, or to lose our chance to visit our homelands, if the Government’s failure to address clandestine activities by the PRC means that individual dissidents and their families could be identified and harassed by the Chinese state.”

“Economic ties with China must not take precedence over human rights. ” Irish Uyghurs protested outside the meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, and Tánaiste Simon Harris, urging the Irish government to address China’s human rights abuses against the Uyghur community, the group stated on X.

The European Union has recognized China’s use of transnational repression, and activists stress that Ireland must not ignore the threats posed to its residents. “People in Ireland have a right to live free from fear,” the statement declared.

In June 2022, the European Parliament passed a regulation recognizing and supporting Uyghur human rights, through a Motion for a Resolution on the human rights situation in Xinjiang, including the Xinjiang Police Files. The motion requested inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure.

The United States has recognized Chinese atrocities against the Uyghurs and other Turkic groups as genocide and crimes against humanity.

“Ireland is China’s strategic partner for mutually beneficial co-operation. Over recent years, bilateral relations have enjoyed a sound growth momentum,” the Chinese foreign ministry said last week when announcing the visit, which is taking place at the request of the Chinese government.

Wang’s visit marks the second high-level Chinese official visit to Ireland in just over a year, amid growing concerns over China’s global influence and human rights violations.