Chinese students at European universities report harassment by their home government for expressing opposition views. Often, the perpetrators are fellow Chinese students. DW reporter Akanksha Saxena met two of those affected in Amsterdam.
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00:00Students at university are often far away from home, yet some are still not far enough.
00:07I met with a student from mainland China.
00:10To protect their identity, we will call them Sara and will use their preferred pronouns, they-them.
00:16Sara is studying media and culture in a graduate programme at the University of Amsterdam
00:21and says they are being monitored by nationalist Chinese students in class.
00:26During certain of my school projects or classes,
00:29when I express certain opinions that Chinese authorities might not like very much,
00:33I would have some issues because certain pro-China students have threatened to report me
00:38or they have lots of issues with me.
00:40I was indeed reported to the Chinese police and my family were called as a consequence.
00:45And the harassment, they say, extends beyond the campus
00:49as Sara also organises peaceful protests for human rights,
00:53including protests calling out China's rights record.
00:57Sara had to install camera in their home because of repeated harassment.
01:01An Amnesty International report released earlier this year said
01:04surveillance and harassment are being used to intimidate Chinese and Hong Kong students
01:09studying in at least eight countries in Western Europe and North America.
01:13Almost one-third of the 32 students that we spoke to had had their family in China
01:18harassed by police or government officials in response to activities
01:23that the students had undertaken abroad.
01:26In some instances, it was clear that these students were under government surveillance
01:30because, for instance, they might speak at a rally in a country in Europe or North America
01:37and within hours their parents in China are contacted by police
01:41who are threatening them to make sure that their child is silent.
01:46Financial pressure is another tactic employed by China in European countries,
01:50especially against those taking part in protests.
01:54Especially for students, this is problematic
01:57because most students get their tuition fees and living costs paid by our families.
02:01Chinese authorities can ask our parents to cut us off financially at any time.
02:05This is one of the biggest stresses that students can have in the Netherlands.
02:11Kate is from Hong Kong and is studying law at the University of Amsterdam.
02:15She wants to be an international human rights lawyer
02:18but also regularly faces harassment and intimidation through threats on her phone.
02:23The climate of fear has taken its toll on Kate's academic plans.
02:28I saw on the news about a student who studies in Japan
02:32being arrested back in Hong Kong for what she had said overseas.
02:36And this made me have to reconsider my thesis topic.
02:40My original topic was about the national security law.
02:44I have to change my thesis topic into something less sensitive
02:48in order to protect myself and my family back in Hong Kong.
02:55The universities themselves are finding the situation hard to deal with.
02:59But in the Netherlands they have started to formulate policies
03:03to counter threats to their international students.
03:08At the moment we are working on a framework of action for them
03:12because we hear that there is influence, not only from the state of China
03:16but also from criminal organizations that extort and threaten them.
03:21But over what happens in their home country we have less influence or no influence.
03:29The governments in China and Hong Kong deny any involvement
03:32in the repression of their students abroad.
03:34But Sara and Kate continue to face threats and surveillance.
03:38They say they are too afraid to return home.