How China’s economic might systematically bulldozes Uyghur cause – Firstpost

The world woke up on 27 February to the disturbing news of the repatriation of over 40 Uyghurs from Thailand to China. These Uyghurs were detained at the immigration bureau centre in Soi Suan Phlu, Yannawa district (Bangkok) for years. A China Southern Airlines plane carrying all the repatriates reached Kashgar city in South Xinjiang last afternoon. The fervent appeal by Uyghurs across the globe, civil society organisations, human rights activists, scholars, and sympathisers not to hand over the hapless and helpless Uyghur repatriates fell on deaf ears.

The international community is deeply concerned about the safety and security of these Uyghurs, who are handed over to China. The concerns seem to be valid, as in the past, many such repatriates, who were handed over to China, be they Uyghurs, Tibetans, or the so-called anti-Chinese elements, had risked their lives. Nobody even knows where these repatriates are or what happened to them. Further, the Chinese government has been notorious for imprisoning more than a million Uyghurs in camps under the pretext of re-educating them. The US, UK, Germany, and the EU have condemned Thai action in the strongest possible terms.

The UN Human Rights Council Chief, Volker Turk, lamented that the deportation of Uyghurs by Thai authorities “violates the principle of non-refoulement for which there is a complete prohibition in cases where there is a real risk of torture, ill-treatment, or other irreparable harm upon their return”. Amnesty International dubbed this process of forcibly returning the Uyghurs to China as “unimaginably cruel”. Another organisation, Justice for All, which had launched a Save Uyghur Campaign, admonished the Thai government for sacrificing the Uyghurs at the hands of their oppressor (China), “where they face the risk of imprisonment, torture, and death.”

However, Chinese authorities, in their reaction to the repatriation of Uyghurs, are brazen enough to state that these returnees would be treated as per the law of the People’s Republic of China. For example, the Chinese government mouthpiece The Global Times, while reiterating the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson’s statements, dubbed the entire process of repatriation of Uyghurs being “carried out in accordance with the laws of both China and Thailand, as well as international law and international practices.” Earlier, as reported in another Chinese propaganda tool, Xinhua, a senior official of China’s Ministry of Public Security stated that “40 ‘Chinese nationals’ involved in illegal immigration were repatriated from Thailand in a coordinated effort to combat cross-border crime and safeguard the legitimate rights of Chinese citizens.” This springs a surprise as the official did not take the name of Uyghurs but instead described the repatriates as “Chinese nationals”.

It is essential to note that the repatriation process by the Thai authorities formally started in the second week of last month (January 2025) when the Uyghur captives were forced to sign the “voluntary deportation” documents. This Thai action prompted the detainees to go on a hunger strike for weeks. This was reported widely in local and international media and posted by many Uyghurs on social media, inviting widespread concern among the global community. In their efforts to stop Uyghurs’ repatriation to China, human rights groups filed petition after petition to the judicial authorities in Thailand. Thai judicial officers met a couple of times between the 6th and 17th of February to decide on these petitions, but to no avail.

According to an Istanbul-based Uyghur diaspora organisation, over a dozen years ago, in 2013, and later on in 2014, when Chinese excesses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang continued unabated, particularly after President Xi Jinping’s most trusted lieutenant, Chen Quanguo, became the General Secretary of the Xinjiang branch of the Chinese Communist Party, nearly 350 Uyghurs fled to Thailand. They were caught by Thai security personnel for entering the country illegally and were sent to custody in different prisons in the country.

Thailand has an altogether different take on the whole gamut of issues involved in the process of repatriation of Uyghurs. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra dispelled the Western criticism of having a huge trade deal with China in exchange for Uyghurs. She stated that these Uyghurs entered Thailand illegally, for which they were incarcerated for over a decade after being found as culprits.

Surprisingly, Shinawatra added that no third country came forward to accept these Uyghur detainees, whereas the Chinese authorities provided sufficient shreds of evidence confirming them as their citizens. However, Prime Minister Shinawatra’s assertions are a blatant lie, as in July 2015, with the help and untiring efforts of the Turkey-based diaspora groups, nearly half of these Uyghurs, mostly women and children, were exonerated and shifted from Thailand to Turkey.

This is not the first time the Uyghurs have been deported to China from any foreign country. The same Thai authorities, in 2015, had repatriated a few Uyghurs, who were released from Guantanamo Bay prison after being captured in Afghanistan. This was possible after China offered nearly five billion dollars of investment in Thailand. Nearly 109 Uyghurs were deported to China in the same year (2015), and their fates are not known. Five repatriates died between 2015 and 2023, and over 30 Uyghurs tried to escape, but some of them were recaptured.

This present case of repatriation of Uyghurs is the finest example of how humanity fails at the altar of the vested economic interest of a country like Thailand. The entire world community has remained a mute witness to the plights of the Uyghurs. It is understood well that Thailand does not want to curry the disfavour of an economic giant like China for the Uyghurs. The reason is loud and clear.

It is essential to note that China is Thailand’s largest trade partner among ASEAN member nations. Thailand is China’s third-largest trading partner, with their bilateral trade touching a whopping $125 billion. China was Thailand’s largest investor in 2023, with more than a thousand Chinese companies investing there in all crucial sectors of the economy. In addition, China is the primary market for Thai agricultural products. China is the destination for over 40 per cent of Thai agricultural products. Hence, the cause of Uyghurs appears defeated in Thailand.

Mahesh Ranjan Debata teaches at the Center for Inner Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.