This content was originally published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now licensed for reprint.
According to a report released on Sunday from Amnesty International, Chinese students studying abroad report a common fear among peers that things they do n’t talk about in class, like attending vigils or openly discussing political views, could lead to trouble for both them and their families.  ,
From June 2023 to April 2024, the London-based human rights organization interviewed 32 individuals from eight Eastern European and North American nations. One-third of the interviewees claimed to have experienced a” culture of concern” that had impacted their academic performance.
Ten of the students claimed that Taiwanese authorities had visited relatives in China to deter school activities, and that their unease was worse when they arrived.  ,
” Rowan” ( the report used pseudonyms ) said her father called just hours after she attended a commemorative event for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, even though she had n’t registered for the event or posted anything online about her participation.
The Chinese authorities should be portrayed as a bad government, according to her father’s instruction to tell his child not to do anything.  ,
The main message, Rowan told Amnesty in a 2023 meeting, was that “you are being watched, and though we are on the other side of the world, we can also achieve you”.
By hit time, an message to the Chinese Embassy in Washington requesting a reaction to the Amnesty document had not been received.
A dread of contemporaries
There are 900, 000 Chinese students studying elsewhere, according to Amnesty International. Almost 290, 000 Chinese learners  , were granted visas , to study in the United States in fiscal year 2023, according to the State Department. China sends more kids to the U. S. than any other state.
Reports from media sources, including Radio Free Asia, have included instances of China’s” international repression” of American students who engaged in demonstrations or other actions against Communist Party principles.
Zhang Jinrui, a law student at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., reported to RFA last fall that state security officials in China had visited his family after he participated in” white paper” protests in protest of China’s harsh anti-COVID laws and restrictions on free speech.
Foreign students at Columbia University spoke to Radiofrequency about the various steps they were taking to protect themselves or their people from the white paper protests.
They avoided inviting Chinese learners to classes because they feared they would be identified by authorities and avoided wearing masks at situations.
Amnesty International interviewed half of the students because they worried that their fellow students may come back and accuse them. According to Amnesty, this dread makes students who are already struggling to live in other countries feel isolated and alone.
After the local Chinese group learned about his involvement in political rallies, Michael, a scholar in North America, claimed he was “ostracized, removed from online chat organizations, and kicked out of a group activity team.”
