Xinjiang exit bans keep Uyghur ‘agitators’ in place, divide families

June 1, 2023 | The China Project | By Ruth Ingram

Omer Kanat, the director of the Washington-based Uyghur Human Rights Project, warned that only a chosen few Uyghurs were leaving Xinjiang, and that they were doing so under strict Chinese government control.

“They have to swear affidavits, some have to sign their homes over to the government, and they are threatened with [internment] camps on their return if they step over the line,” Kanat told The China Project. “They are all terrified that something will happen to their relatives if they speak out, so most just keep quiet or say that everything is fine over there.”

Kanat said he knew that Beijing was sending select Uyghurs overseas to promote a positive narrative of their homeland.

“No one trusts these people,” Kanat said. “They are all given a wide berth by the Uyghur community.”

Read the full article: https://thechinaproject.com/2023/06/01/xinjiang-exit-bans-keep-uyghur-agitators-in-place-divide-families/