Student allegedly jailed in China for six years after taking part in pro-democracy protests in Australia

The Australian government has been urged to take stronger action to protect Chinese international students from political repression by authorities on their return after a Chinese student was allegedly sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for joining pro-democracy protests in Australia.The student, who the Guardian has chosen not to name, lost contact with his friends in Sydney after returning to China in December 2024.He was known to have plans to stay in Australia after graduation. Two employers also confirmed with Guardian Australia that they have lost contact with the student since January 2025.A representative of the student’s family in Australia told the Guardian that the student was arrested and charged with secession for participating in pro-democracy protests in Sydney, including two solidarity protests for China’s ethnic minorities.The family representative claimed the family was not offered a copy of the judgment after the trial.The student allegedly went on trial ahead of China’s introduction of the ethnic unity law, which human rights advocates have argued worsens existing restrictions on minority groups’ use of their languages.A number of people who previously participated in rallies in Sydney critical of the Chinese government said they knew the student through the events.The University of Sydney, where he was enrolled, refused to comment, citing privacy.Maya Wang, the deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said his arrest could be part of broader political repression targeting Chinese international students who arrived in the west after the 2022 “white paper” protests.In December 2022, hundreds of young Chinese people gathered and held white papers in several cities in China to protest amid anger over harsh Covid lockdown measures.The protest, which was one of the biggest youth-led rallies in China since the 1989 Tiananmen protest, had pushed Beijing to end Covid lockdown measures, while authorities began arresting protesters.Wang said that while China traditionally focused on suppressing activism within the country, its focus has shifted to overseas after migration waves in recent years.“They have kind of intimidated enough people inside China, and then people move abroad and continue to activism, or experience new activism – because many of these students are new activists – then naturally, your focus of enforcement moves abroad,” said Wang.“The young students today, are, as a group, more problematic from the Chinese government point [of view].”She said many people who cared about democracies would move to a democratic country where they felt it would be safer to continue their activism, but many democratic countries have failed to understand the situation.She also said governments needed to take a stronger stance in leading universities to protect international students from political repression over their participation in pro-democracy activities.“If you leave it for the universities to deal with that, they really do not have capacity, because we’re talking about a higher education institution. They really need the money brought by international students. They are already very cash-strapped,” she said.“The existing university framework is generally focused on, let’s say research integrity, informed consent, but there’s rarely ever a human rights concern, which is a very big blind spot.”In 2021, a report by Human Rights Watch revealed Chinese pro-democracy students faced intimidation and harassment and fear of reprisal.In September, the Guardian reported that 22-year-old Chinese student Yadi Zhang was detained in China allegedly over her involvement in activism for Tibet.The former chief executive of Universities Australia, Catriona Jackson, said at the time that universities were considering best-practice examples from overseas to counter foreign government-linked harassment against students.Universities Australia has declined to comment on the case.In 2019, the federal government introduced guidelines to counter foreign interference in universities as well as a taskforce focused on the issue.The guidelines ask universities to provide training to staff and students who engage in foreign collaboration or partnership activities on the risks of foreign interference. However, they do not provide guidance on what universities should do to support international students who face political repressions at home for participating in pro-democracy events that are legal in Australia.Both the university foreign interference taskforce and the Department of Education refused to comment on whether the guidelines would be updated to cover political repression against students.The shadow home affairs and immigration minister, Jonno Duniam, said the case of the missing student was “deeply concerning”, and said universities have “a clear responsibility to ensure all students can speak freely without intimidation”.“The Albanese government and universities must have strong safeguards against foreign interference and ensure robust protections for students exercising free speech. This includes clear reporting mechanisms and consequences for intimidation or coercion,” he said.In a statement, a Department of Home Affairs spokesperson said it won’t comment on individual cases for privacy reasons, but “it is unacceptable for any foreign government to target members of our community in ways that prevent individuals exercising their fundamental rights and freedoms in Australia”.The Chinese embassy in Canberra said it was not aware of the case.