UK: Spying scandal highlights threat to people seeking safety from China in the UK

Activists who have given information on China to parliamentarians put at risk

 ‘The Government must take urgent, concrete steps to investigate this case and reassure those standing up for the rights of their families and friends in China that Parliament is the protected space it claims to be’ – Polly Truscott

In reaction to reports of an alleged spy working for the Chinese government in Parliament, Polly Truscott, Amnesty International UK’s foreign policy advisor, said:

“Amnesty International continues to document the Chinese government’s ever-expanding repression at home and abroad, and the chilling effect it has on Tibetans, Uyghurs, mainland Chinese and Hong Kongers’ fight for their rights, including those living in the UK.

 “If true, this spying scandal reveals yet another layer of intrusion being inflicted on foreign soil, and puts activists from these groups - who believed they were being protected when seeking help and giving vital information to parliamentarians - in very real danger.

 “We have long called on the UK government to protect these communities from the long arm of Chinese state oppression and to defend their rights to peaceful protest and freedom of expression and prevent any effort to intimidate and silence them.

 “The Government must take urgent, concrete steps to investigate this case and demonstrate to those standing up for the rights of their families and friends in China that Parliament is the protected space it claims to be.”

 Repressive regime



The Chinese government continues to stifle domestic critics of its policies and actions and discussion of topics considered sensitive through increasingly pervasive online censorship and surveillance, while critics overseas also experience harassment and intimidation, online and off. Government critics, human rights defenders, pro-democracy activists and religious leaders and practitioners were among those subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention. Systematic repression of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet continue - see more on China’s human rights violations