IPAC Letter to U.S. Secretary of State & Homeland Secretary to Halt Deportation of China Whistleblower
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IPAC welcomes reports that deportation of China whistleblower Heng Guan has been halted. 43 IPAC lawmakers from 25 countries, including the U.S., wrote to the Secretary of State Rubio, and Homeland Secretary Noem this week, raising serious concerns over the risks of deportation.
Full letter below.
Dear Secretaries Noem and Rubio,
We write to you respectfully to express our serious concern regarding the recent arrest and potential deportation of Mr. Heng Guan, a Chinese national currently in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). We urge you to give his case careful attention in light of Guan’s role in exposing Beijing’s crimes in the north-western Xinjiang region of China. Guan’s deportation risks handing him over to the Chinese government’s custody, which would pose serious risks to his fundamental rights.
In late 2020, Guan published a 19-minute video online detailing his travels in Xinjiang, including in places that would be identified as detention facilities for Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities. These images, and his wider work as a citizen journalist, were critical in providing rare visual evidence of the scale and brutal nature of China’s detention campaign, and in raising public awareness of China’s crimes. Fearing persecution, Guan subsequently left China, eventually entering the United States following travels through South America.
According to available information, Guan was detained in August of this year, and it is believed he is being held in a Broome County facility in upstate New York. His name appears on an online page of ICE detainees.
Despite his asylum application, we are informed that the Department of Homeland Security has initiated removal proceedings that could result in Mr. Guan’s removal to China, raising serious safety concerns.
Should Guan end up in China’s custody, it is likely he will face inhumane conditions and treatment. He may also be pressured into making statements designed to raise doubts about the evidence his video footage provided, and the veracity and credibility of U.S. and Western reporting on China.
We respectfully request that the Department of Homeland Security and the Department State review Mr. Heng Guan’s case with urgency; and take all possible steps to prevent deportation until any legal, humanitarian, and human rights concerns have been thoroughly and independently assessed.
We would be grateful for any information your departments are able to provide regarding the steps being taken in connection with this case.
Yours sincerely,
Dennis Gratz MP (Bosnia Herzegovina)
Adi Kalem MP (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
James Bezan MP (Canada)
Simon Pierre Savard-Tremblay MP (Canada)
Judy Sgro MP (Canada)
Senator Pavel Fischer (Czech Republic)
Hayato Okamura MP (Czech Republic)
Marek Ženíšek, MP (Czech Republic)
Karsten Honge MP (Denmark)
Morten Messerschmidt MP (Denmark)
Bernard Guetta MEP (European Parliament)
Engin Eroglu MEP (European Parliament)
Miriam Lexmann MEP (European Parliament)
Lukas Sieper, MEP (European Parliament)
Senator Olivier Cadic (France)
Boris Mijatovic MdB (Germany)
Sujeet Kumar MP (India)
Barry Ward TD (Ireland)
Jureits Vilums MP (Latvia)
Žygimantas Pavilionis MP (Lithuania)
Jan Paternotte MP (Netherlands)
Tom van der Lee MP (Netherlands)
Joseph Mooney MP (New Zealand)
Fatmir Bytyqi MP (North Macedonia)
Guri Melby MP (Norway)
Senator Eduardo Nakayama (Paraguay)
Rep. Rufus Rodrigues (Philippines)
Cristian Ghinea MP (Romania)
Hon. Peter Kenilorea Jr MP (Solomon Islands)
Magnus Berntsson MP (Sweden)
Joar Forssell MP (Sweden)
Rep Janice Chen (Taiwan)
Rep Fan Yun (Taiwan)
Yulia Klymenko MP (Ukraine)
Mykola Kniazhytskyi MP(Ukraine)
Oleksandr Merezhko MP (Ukraine)
Sviatoslav Yurash MP (Ukraine)
Chris Law MP (United Kingdom)
Luke Akehurst MP (United Kingdom)
Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP (United Kingdom)
Alicia Kearns MP (United Kingdom)
Layla Moran MP (United Kingdom)
Senator Jeff Merkley (United States)
Nat. Dep. Federico Casaretto (Uruguay)
IPAC Alumni
Catalin Tenita, former MP (Romania)
Tim Loughton, former MP (United Kingdom)
John McKay, former MP (Canada)
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