شەرقىي تۈركىستان سۈرگۈندى ھۆكۈمىتى

EAST TURKISTAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE

Restoring Independence for East Turkistan and its people

شەرقىي تۈركىستان سۈرگۈندى ھۆكۈمىتى

EAST TURKISTAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE

Restoring Independence for East Turkistan and its people

شەرقىي تۈركىستان سۈرگۈندى ھۆكۈمىتى

East Turkistan Government in Exile

Restoring Independence for East Turkistan and its people

China’s ‘Homeland Visits’ Are a Smokescreen for Espionage, Repression, and a Global Security Threat, ETGE Warns

PRESS RELEASE – For Immediate Release
East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE)
East-Turkistan.Net
contact@East-Turkistan.Net
4 February 2025

The East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) forcefully condemns the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) latest intelligence operation and psychological warfare campaign—coerced trips to Occupied East Turkistan for members of the East Turkistani/Uyghur diaspora, orchestrated by the United Front Work Department (UFWD), a key arm of China’s intelligence and influence apparatus.

A recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report highlighted China’s severe travel restrictions on Uyghurs but failed to address a critical element of the PRC/CCP’s transnational repression: these so-called “homeland visits” are not merely restrictive—they are part of a global intelligence operation designed to infiltrate, monitor, influence and control the East Turkistani / Uyghur diaspora.

ETGE President Dr. Mamtimin Ala emphasized this point, stating,

“China is using these incentivized and coerced trips as a weapon to infiltrate, manipulate, and spy on the East Turkistani diaspora. This is also a form of psychological warfare and intelligence gathering to undermine our resistance against China’s ongoing campaign of colonization, genocide, and occupation of East Turkistan.”

These trips are highly coordinated intelligence-gathering and psychological warfare missions, with participants often coerced into spying on East Turkistani pro-independence activists and organizations abroad and preventing pro-independence advocacy and sentiments. The PRC/ CCP pressures individuals to provide intelligence, spread disinformation, and weaken the East Turkistani independence movement. This strategy aligns with China’s long-standing goal of “preventing the internationalization of the East Turkistan problem,” as explicitly outlined in CCP Central Committee Document No. 7 of 1996.

In recent years, hundreds, and possibly thousands of Uyghurs, in the global diaspora have been incentivized and/or coerced to travel to East Turkistan, where they are often subjected to pressure to collaborate with Chinese intelligence operations.

Through incentives, blackmail, threats against family members, and psychological manipulation, the PRC /CCP forces participants into serving as covert agents in Beijing’s transnational repression network. ETGE Minister of Foreign Affairs and Security Salih Hudayar warned of the grave security risk these operations pose, stating:

“The PRC is weaponizing ‘homeland visits’ as a covert operation to recruit informants, and influence and control the East Turkistani diaspora, undermining resistance to its occupation and genocide. Governments in the Free World must recognize this as a serious security threat and take decisive action to counter Beijing’s influence operations.”

Furthermore, these staged visits serve as a smokescreen to whitewash and deny the ongoing genocide against the people of East Turkistan. While millions remain imprisoned in concentration camps, enslaved as forced labor, or confined in high-security prisons, Beijing attempts to fabricate an illusion of “peace” and “development” through carefully choreographed tours, scripted testimonies, and manipulated imagery. The ETGE warns that this is not merely propaganda—it is part of China’s global strategy to suppress the truth and dismantle resistance.

Call to Action

  • The ETGE urges all East Turkistanis / Uyghurs to reject participation in these PRC/CCP-directed intelligence operations and warns that engaging in such trips puts both participants and their communities at risk.
  • We call on democratic governments, particularly those hosting East Turkistani diaspora communities, to closely monitor individuals traveling to or from East Turkistan. Those returning from PRC-controlled territories should be scrutinized for signs of coercion, blackmail, or recruitment by Chinese intelligence agencies.
  • We urge Western intelligence agencies and law enforcement to treat UFWD-led initiatives as a direct national security threat. The PRC/CCP is actively working to infiltrate, undermine, and dismantle the East Turkistani national movement abroad, and governments must take decisive action to counter Beijing’s transnational repression.
  • We call on policymakers to implement strict counterintelligence measures against PRC influence operations targeting exiled communities. Western nations must recognize that China’s repression **does not stop with its occupation of East Turkistan—it extends into democratic societies, where it seeks to silence dissidents, co-opt community leaders and organizations, and use all means necessary to undermine East Turkistani pro-independence activism.**

The CCP’s own documents confirm its intent: CCP Central Committee Document No. 7 of 1996 outlines the regime’s strategy to prevent the internationalization of the East Turkistan issue through infiltration, surveillance, and propaganda. This is not a new policy—it is an extension of Beijing’s long-term war against the East Turkistani people.

The world must not fall for China’s deception. The ETGE reiterates that restoring East Turkistan’s independence is the only way forward to ensure the human rights, freedoms, and very survival of our people. The East Turkistani people remain resolute in our fight for justice, freedom, and the restoration of our nation’s independence.

Scroll to Top