It begins with a phone call. A voice, calm and persuasive, tells the émigré to come home. Sometimes the pressure is gentle. Sometimes it turns to menace. Thousands of miles from Beijing, opponents of China’s Communist Party discover they are never truly beyond its reach.
New investigations by an international consortium of journalists have revealed the scale and sophistication of China’s campaign to monitor, intimidate, and sometimes coerce its critics living abroad. Nowhere is the trend more visible than in France and Canada, where exiles — once hopeful of sanctuary — find themselves ensnared in an invisible web of surveillance and pressure.
The tactics, orchestrated by China’s Ministry of State Security, target a wide array of individuals: Uyghur Muslims who fled mass detention camps, Tibetan activists, Hong Kong protesters, former political dissidents, and practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual movement. Whether they sought safety in Paris’s Belleville neighborhood or Toronto’s Scarborough district, they often brought their fears with them.
For many, the harassment is personal. One Uyghur student in Paris described receiving repeated calls from someone purporting to be an official back home. The message was clear: cooperate, or your family will suffer. In another case, a pro-democracy activist in Montreal realized his relatives in Guangdong province had been summoned for questioning after he attended a protest.
Such forms of intimidation fall into what experts call “transnational repression” — efforts by authoritarian governments to silence dissent beyond their borders. While Russia and Iran have drawn attention for high-profile operations abroad, China’s campaign is distinguished by its vast scale, bureaucratic organization, and often-invisible methods.
At the heart of the strategy is “persuasion to return” — an approach combining psychological pressure with threats, sometimes culminating in extraordinary renditions. Chinese authorities have praised such efforts publicly, calling them a means of combating corruption and maintaining national security. Yet human rights advocates warn that these tactics frequently target individuals guilty of no crime beyond opposing the ruling party.
Documents obtained by investigative journalists show that China’s Ministry of State Security maintains a detailed database of overseas targets. Profiles include not only known activists, but also students, academics, and business figures whose views are considered insufficiently loyal. Surveillance operations draw on networks of Chinese expatriates, student associations, and sometimes even private investigators hired abroad.
France, long home to a large exile community, has emerged as a focal point. Dissidents describe being followed on the street, receiving unsolicited “advice” from unknown individuals, and having their digital communications monitored. In some cases, pressure escalates into direct threats, with operatives warning of consequences to family members left behind in China.
In Canada, similar patterns have emerged. A Tibetan activist in Vancouver recounted receiving dozens of anonymous emails accusing him of “betraying the motherland” and warning of “punishment to come.” Meanwhile, Chinese-language media outlets, some with alleged ties to state-linked entities, have run smear campaigns against outspoken figures, painting them as traitors or criminals.
Governments in both France and Canada have expressed concern but remain cautious in their responses. French authorities acknowledge that monitoring and intimidation have occurred on their soil, yet prosecutions remain rare. Canadian intelligence services have issued advisories to members of vulnerable communities, encouraging them to report suspicious contacts.
Part of the difficulty lies in the nature of the operations themselves. Much of the harassment occurs in the gray zone between legality and outright crime: anonymous calls, online defamation, social shaming. Even when threats cross the line into illegality, victims often hesitate to come forward, fearing retaliation or believing little can be done.
Diplomatic realities further complicate the picture. France and Canada both maintain substantial economic ties with China, creating incentives to tread carefully. Beijing routinely denies accusations of overseas repression, dismissing them as “groundless smears” orchestrated by hostile forces. Efforts to push back can quickly escalate into diplomatic spats, as seen in Canada’s recent expulsion of a Chinese diplomat accused of targeting a legislator critical of Beijing.
Beyond the immediate human toll, the phenomenon raises profound questions about sovereignty and the rule of law. If authoritarian governments can project their power across borders to silence dissent, what does that mean for the future of asylum, free speech, and democratic norms?
The impact on targeted communities is tangible. Many exiles live in a state of heightened vigilance, altering their routines, avoiding political activities, and cutting ties with fellow dissidents to protect themselves and their families. Some report symptoms consistent with chronic stress or post-traumatic stress disorder.
Civil society organizations have begun calling for stronger protections. In France, advocacy groups have urged the government to create a dedicated task force to investigate cases of foreign political harassment. In Canada, lawmakers have introduced proposals to expand the mandate of the national intelligence agency to counter transnational repression more aggressively.
Yet meaningful action remains elusive. Resources are limited, and intelligence services must prioritize among myriad threats. Moreover, victims often lack the institutional support necessary to navigate complex legal systems or pursue remedies.
For many, the experience is one of deep betrayal — a realization that even in countries priding themselves on their human rights records, safety is not guaranteed. One former student leader from Hong Kong, now living in France, summed up the sentiment: “I thought I was free. But in the eyes of the Chinese state, I am still within their walls.”
The investigative reports, part of the broader “China Targets” project coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, aim to shed light on the phenomenon and spur international debate. Analysts warn that without coordinated global action, China’s model could become a template for other regimes seeking to suppress dissent beyond their borders.
For now, dissidents abroad remain trapped in an uncomfortable paradox: citizens of open societies, yet prisoners of distant threats. As governments wrestle with how to respond, the exiles continue to look over their shoulders, carrying the heavy burden of unwanted attention from a homeland they dared to leave behind.
———-
First published in this link of The European Times.
