The Uyghur issue was an important topic at the "Dictators Without Borders" symposium

The “Dictators Without Borders” symposium organized by the “Renewing Democracy Project” in the United States was held on October 29-30 in Washington.
The symposium organized discussions on many topics such as global oppression and the dictators who cause it, transnational oppression and practical measures against it, and informing the international community about the tragedies arising in this area.
One of the discussions was on the topic of “Confronting Transnational Repression”, where the various pressures faced by the opposition who are subjected to political persecution by dictatorial regimes, the “hostile” forces in the eyes of dictatorial regimes, and the various pressures faced by the Uyghurs in the diaspora attracted the attention of many parties from all walks of life.
In her speech, Ms. Rahima Mahmut, Director of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) Office in the United Kingdom, described the persecution of Chinese dictators through her personal experiences. She believes that the current repression across the border based on the dictatorship in China had already taken on a regular form in 2000, when she left the motherland. At that time, she attended a closed meeting of 15 members of the Uyghur organization in Germany, and when she contacted her brothers in Ghulja after the meeting, they told Rahima that “special guests” had come to the house, and asked her not to attend such meetings if possible. In 2013, she invited her sister from Ghulja to England because she was seriously ill and needed someone to take care of her. But her sister was unable to obtain a passport no matter how hard she tried. When she called her relatives in January 2017, they answered the phone with difficulty and said, “We entrust you to God. Do the same for us,” and cried. Since then, all contact with her relatives has been cut off.
One of the most recent witnesses to this kind of cross-border repression is Hong Kong activist Joey Siu, who was an enthusiastic participant in the early Hong Kong democracy movement. In particular, when the Hong Kong authorities announced a bill on extradition to China in 2019, he joined the anti-government movement. Later, he was unable to stay in Hong Kong due to police harassment and returned to the United States, where he participated in Uyghur, Tibetan, and Taiwanese activities against the Chinese Communist Party. But despite being a US citizen and only 24 years old, the Hong Kong authorities announced a reward of HK$1 million (about US$128,000) for his capture in 2023. He spoke about these situations and stated that Chinese dictators are now the most “skilled” dictators, and they are constantly expanding their repression by forming strong alliances with dictators in other parts of the world. “Since dictators can form close alliances to repress across borders,” he concluded, “why can’t we do the same with those who oppose this kind of repression?”
This kind of transnational repression by dictators is ubiquitous, and one of its victims in Kazakhstan, Barlyk Mendygaziyev, gave a special address at the symposium. A well-known businessman and philanthropist in his country, he was forced to flee Kazakhstan due to political differences between dictators Nursultan Nazarbayev and later President Tokayev. But while he enjoyed a peaceful life in the United States, his relatives in Kazakhstan faced imprisonment, physical torture, and mysterious deaths.
In the Q&A session at the end of the meeting, questions were raised in this area from different points. During our interview in this regard, Rahima Mahmut emphasized that people like her who enjoy the environment of freedom in the Western world have a conscientious responsibility to be the voice of the Uyghurs who are still unable to achieve freedom and whose voices have been stifled. Because she saw and heard how the Uyghurs were killed in the "February 5 Massacre" in 1997, and many people like her have directly witnessed the brutal suppression of the Uyghurs by the Chinese government. Therefore, she believes that while these persecutions are still ongoing across borders, the fact that some Uyghurs in the diaspora travel back home in the name of "visiting their relatives" is nothing more than a betrayal of the national and national cause.
In an interview with our radio station, with Guiso, when talking about China's cross-border suppression and its future trends, the experiences of the Uyghurs are actually the most vivid experiences that reveal the true nature of the Chinese Communist Party. He said:
"I think there is a possibility. Because we all know what happened in East Turkistan. The policies of assimilation and repression have been carried out in Hong Kong since the British government returned Hong Kong to China in 1997. Now China claims that Taiwan is part of China. It is also making a fuss about "returning Taiwan to the motherland." In my opinion, if the people of Taiwan and the international community do not find a way to stop these repressive policies that China is currently pursuing, all these things will see the light of day in Taiwan. Therefore, it is necessary now not only to arm Taiwan against China, but more importantly, democratic forces must work closely together to protect human rights and dignity.
Among those who participated in the meeting, who spoke on various topics, were representatives of the State Department, the American Foundation for the Advancement of Democracy, Freedom Hall, human rights activists, university professors, and journalists.