China’s Transnational Anti-Uyghur Strategy: New Research by Zenz and Tohti

A detailed analysis shows how transnational control strategies silence researchers and fracture diaspora communities with longterm consequences.

by Massimo Introvigne

Published on July 22, 2026, on the University of California Press’ “Communist and Post-Communist Studies,” the article by Adrian Zenz and Muetter Tohti, titled “If You Fly to the Sky, I Can Catch You by Your Feet,” is one of the most forceful examinations of China’s transnational authoritarian control targeting Uyghur diaspora researchers and activists. It reveals a system designed to reach Uyghur voices wherever they live, using tactics that operate quietly, persistently, and with a precision aimed at reshaping the lives of individuals and communities far beyond China’s borders. The authors combine interviews with Uyghur researchers and activists with internal Chinese documents, including the Xinjiang Police Files, to show how Beijing has developed a layered strategy that functions across continents and across years.

Zenz and Tohti propose a multidimensional framework for understanding China’s extraterritorial strategies. They argue that Beijing calibrates its tactics along three axes: repression, cooptation, and legitimation. They introduce the concept of transgressiveness, which measures the degree to which a tactic violates international norms or domestic legal boundaries. This concept explains why Beijing increasingly favors low-transgression, high-impact strategies. These strategies are designed to be effective while remaining deniable, allowing the state to silence witnesses without attracting diplomatic consequences. Authoritarian resilience depends on maneuvers that erode diaspora cohesion and hinder international accountability.

The authors conducted semistructured interviews with eleven Uyghur diaspora researchers and activists. They reveal the lived experiences of individuals who face threats, surveillance, and psychological pressure. The authors acknowledge the emotional proximity of coauthor Tohti to the community and describe the safeguards they used to maintain methodological rigor, including peer review, systematic debriefing, and anonymization. These precautions were necessary because the interviewees were recounting experiences shaped by fear, trauma, and the constant awareness that their words might carry consequences for relatives in Xinjiang.

The primary source analysis draws on leaked internal documents. They show how the Chinese government instructs officials to shape narratives, monitor diaspora members, and control perceptions. The combination of interviews and internal documents provides a comprehensive picture of Beijing’s strategic intent. The authors align diaspora narratives with state directives, showing how individual experiences correspond to official policy. The result is a portrait of a system that operates with bureaucratic discipline and psychological sophistication.

The empirical findings reveal a strategy that is both layered and relentless. The authors identify five primary effects of China’s transnational tactics: obstructing evidence collection, fostering fear and self-censorship, discrediting researchers, inducing psychological distress, and fracturing diaspora social cohesion. These effects reinforce each other and create an environment in which researchers hesitate to speak, activists reduce their engagement, and communities lose their ability to organize. Zens and Tohti show how these effects accumulate over time, producing longterm consequences that weaken the diaspora’s capacity to resist.

Numerous cases illustrate how PRC authorities employ various forms of harassment and control targeting Uyghur diaspora members abroad. For instance, Abduweli Ayup experienced the confiscation of his passport by the Chinese embassy in Türkiye, which threatened him with statelessness unless he demonstrated “active cooperation” with Xinjiang authorities. Similarly, Memutcan Erkin reported being approached by individuals confronting him and his daughter during their trips to Türkiye, with increased scrutiny and threats issued against him and his family members. In another case, Uyghur activist “X,” after speaking publicly about Xinjiang abuses, was warned by Chinese-based relatives of heightened surveillance, leading to a significant decline in his activism. These tactics—passport revocations, threats, surveillance, and direct intimidation—are meant to intimidate and dissuade Uyghurs from engaging in advocacy or testimonies, effectively silencing dissent and obstructing documentation.

The authors note a shift from overt repression to cooptation. They show how Beijing uses conditional access, such as family reunification, to induce acquiescence among diaspora members. Individuals become reluctant to speak out because they fear consequences for themselves or their relatives. Interviews reveal a normalization of travel to Xinjiang and an increasing reluctance to engage in activism. The authors interpret this as evidence of effective cooptation. This strategy is subtle and long-term. It does not rely on visible coercion but on emotional ties and personal vulnerabilities. It transforms family connections into instruments of political control.

The article also describes how the Chinese state discredits researchers through disinformation campaigns, impersonation, and false accusations. These tactics undermine credibility and impede international accountability. The psychological toll is severe. Interviewees describe harassment, surveillance, and anxiety. The authors show that repression extends beyond physical threats and affects mental health. This psychological dimension is central to Beijing’s strategy. It reduces researchers’ ability to work and isolates them from their communities. It creates a climate in which silence becomes a survival strategy.

Social fragmentation within Uyghur communities is one of the most serious long-term consequences. Community members distance themselves from activists because they fear reprisal. Social gatherings become sites of surveillance or self-censorship. The authors describe how even ordinary interactions are affected. This fragmentation undermines collective resilience and reduces the potential for organized resistance. It is a strategy that operates quietly and gradually, yet its effects are profound. It transforms communities into networks of caution and suspicion.

Zenz and Tohti argue that Beijing’s strategy has evolved. Traditional repression remains significant, yet the Chinese government increasingly emphasizes tactics that are less visible and lower in transgressiveness but higher in impact. These tactics include exploiting border reopenings to coopt diaspora members through family reunions, selectively allowing visits that serve Beijing’s narrative goals, and encouraging cooperation under the guise of restorative measures. This evolution aligns with broader literature on authoritarian adaptability. It shows how regimes mitigate international scrutiny by employing tactics that are deniable and difficult to attribute directly to state coercion.

The policy implications are urgent. The authors insist that current responses, which focus largely on overt repression, are inadequate. The covert and co-optative measures they describe silence witnesses while evading legal and diplomatic repercussions. They advocate for a holistic, long-term resilience-building approach that addresses physical threats, psychological pressure, and social fragmentation. They emphasize the need for international actors to recognize the importance of low-transgression tactics and to develop countermeasures that can detect and respond to them. These countermeasures should safeguard diaspora communities against subtle coercion and misinformation.

This study is important for scholars, policymakers, and human rights advocates. It shows how Beijing’s strategies operate across borders and across years and how repression, cooptation, and legitimation interact. It illustrates how psychological pressure and social fragmentation reduce communities’ ability to resist. It shows how authoritarian regimes use subtle tactics to silence witnesses and maintain control. The complexity of transnational repression demands comprehensive responses.

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