Uyghurs abroad targeted by China's cyber agents

ZDFheute Uyghurs abroad targeted by China's cyber agents Western intelligence agencies warn by Maria Christoph, Sophia Stahl, and Niklas Pfeiffer April 28, 2025 | 6:00 AM | Death threats, cyberattacks, and coercion. Democracy activists living in Germany are being persecuted by the Chinese state and feel poorly protected here. The Long Arm Uyghurs in the diaspora report death threats and online attacks. "Ramadan Mubarak!" - "Have a blessed Ramadan": What begins as a greeting for the Islamic month of fasting is not a normal message, but a hacker attack. In the spring of 2025, members of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) in Munich received an email. Anyone who clicked on the link in the text unknowingly installed a Trojan on their device that overrides security settings – and thus transmits local files, IP addresses, and identification numbers to the attackers. The Citizen Lab, a renowned research group at the University of Toronto, confirms: The entire attack, including all observed methods and tactics, is consistent with known attacks by Chinese state-sponsored hacking groups. The attack was not an isolated incident. In the past four years alone, WUC members received five security warnings from Google: A "state-sponsored actor" was attempting to gain access to their accounts – most recently on April 1, 2025. Western intelligence agencies are also sounding the alarm. At the beginning of April, German, US, British, Canadian, and Australian authorities warned of targeted cyberattacks from China. According to the analysis, the goal is the digital surveillance of Chinese minorities abroad – particularly Uyghurs, Tibetans, people from Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Two years ago, it became known that Muslim minorities in China – such as the Uyghurs – were being oppressed in re-education camps. A ZDF team recently traveled to the Xinjiang region. May 24, 2024 Threats, Arrests, Digital Repression As part of the international research project "China Targets," in which ZDF is also involved, reporters have documented over 100 cases from more than 20 countries in which China has targeted Uyghurs, Tibetans, people from Hong Kong and Taiwan, critics, and activists abroad with death threats, coercion, and cyberattacks. In Germany alone, ZDF reporters have investigated more than a dozen of these cases. Those affected report death threats and online attacks – and that their families in China have been put under pressure. International Investigation "China Targets" "China Targets" is an international project by journalists from Asia, Europe, and North America: ZDF, under the leadership of the International Consortium for Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), together with reporters from "Spiegel," "Washington Post," "Guardian," and other media outlets, has for the first time comprehensively investigated cases of so-called "transnational repression." The reporters investigated threats against Uyghurs as well as people from Tibet, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, which are allegedly coordinated from China. Those affected feel inadequately protected According to internal documents, Western intelligence agencies assume that the Chinese state is capable of "illegally arresting anyone anywhere in the world." The European Parliament is calling on EU states to protect those "harassed and persecuted" by the People's Republic. However, those affected complain that this protection often remains incomplete. Government sources say that "the worrying human rights situation" is addressed by the federal government "regularly and at all levels." Furthermore, the federal government protests "in the strongest possible terms" against "attempts to exert illegitimate influence on German territory." All available intelligence resources are being used to "investigate and counter repressive activities by foreign state actors against dissidents living in Germany." USA: Global Attack by Chinese Hackers The USA accuses China of a large-scale hacking attack on several US corporations and dozens of countries. The Chinese embassy denies the accusation. White House. Despite the growing threat, German authorities do not systematically record the cases. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) does not keep separate statistics on the persecution of Chinese dissidents. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution remains cautious, but in response to a ZDF inquiry, it stated: "All forms of transnational repression (TNR), from (digital) intimidation to acts of state terrorism, violate fundamental human rights and constitute an infringement on Germany's sovereignty and security." The Chinese Embassy did not respond to ZDF's inquiry by press time. In the Chinese province of Xinjiang, Muslims are systematically monitored, persecuted, interned, and forcibly sterilized