Ahead of an event at TU Berlin on the persecution of the Uyghurs, there are indications of intimidation attempts and political pressure by the Chinese government. The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) and the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) view this as an alarming example of transnational repression at German universities.
The event, organized by Students for Uyghurs Berlin and the Education Policy Department of the TU Berlin Student Union (AStA), will take place on Thursday, May 21. The topics include the systematic persecution of Uyghurs, mass internments, surveillance, and forced labor in China.
The STP and the WUC have reliable evidence that the Chinese Embassy exerted pressure to prevent the event. At the same time, a group of Chinese academics at TU Berlin sent a letter demanding the event be canceled. They described it as separatist and potentially intimidating to Chinese students. The text of the letter is known to the STP and the WUC.
The organizers also report an unusually high number of registrations in a short period of time—mostly using Chinese names. This caused considerable unease among speakers and participants. There is concern that targeted disruptions or attempts at intimidation could occur.
“This is transnational repression in real time. It is not just a canceled event that would constitute a success for authoritarian influence. The very fact that students, speakers, and university leadership are feeling unsettled is part of its effect. When debates about human rights violations are called into question out of fear of political pressure, the space for free and critical scholarship shrinks,” says Mirjam Kobold, Program Officer for Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect at STP.
The case raises fundamental questions about how German universities deal with authoritarian attempts to exert influence and about the safety of exile communities in Germany.
Transnational repression refers to state or state-affiliated attempts to intimidate, monitor, or exert political pressure on people abroad. For example, through digital surveillance, threats, or exerting influence on educational institutions and diaspora communities. Universities, in particular, are increasingly coming under scrutiny in this regard. Events in Canada and the U.S. on Xinjiang/East Turkestan or the Uyghurs have already been influenced or disrupted by diplomatic pressure, protest mobilization, surveillance, or intimidation. These familiar patterns are now emerging at TU Berlin.
“Uyghur activists have been experiencing transnational repression for years through surveillance, intimidation, digital attacks, pressure on family members, and attempts to silence our voices in public spaces. When even student events at universities come under pressure, it shows just how far China’s attempts to exert influence reach,” says Haiyuer Kuerban of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC).
The STP and the WUC warn that yielding to political pressure or intimidation could set a dangerous precedent for future events at universities and other public forums in Germany.
“Universities must not become places where authoritarian influence determines which debates take place. Anyone who puts pressure on events addressing human rights violations is attacking academic freedom and democratic spaces,” says Kobold.
The organizers emphasize that the event will take place. Members of the media are cordially invited to attend the event.
For further inquiries, please contact:
Mirjam Kobold of the STP at 65]G378o5=@3@<]> or 030/51695825-4.
Haiyuer Kuerban of the WUC at 8C@]DD6C8?@4CF98JFo?23C6F< or 0176-8056-9329.
Event Information
Film Screening & Discussion: Since May 2014 – A Decade of Mass Ethnic Internment in East Turkestan
Thursday, May 21, 2026 | 5:30 PM
TU Berlin, Room EB 202, Straße des 17. Juni 145, Berlin
Organizers: Students for Uyghurs Berlin & Education Policy Department of the AStA TU Berlin
Featuring, among others, Dr. Rune Steenberg, Melda Ahmetoğlu, and Haiyuer Kuerban
Contact: Mirjam Kobold, Advisor for Genocide Prevention and Responsibility to Protect
Email: 65]AEDo5=@3@<]>
This press release was translated from German to English using AI. If you come across errors or ambiguities, please contact us at 65]G378o6DD6CA.
Contact: Mirjam Kobold, Advisor for Asia – 65]G378o5=@3@<]>