Chinese Man Who Exposed Alleged Xinjiang Abuses Granted Asylum in the United States

New York: A United States immigration judge on Wednesday granted asylum to a Chinese man who revealed alleged Human Rights abuses in china’s Xinjiang region, ruling that he has a well-founded fear of persecution if repatriated.

The ruling allows Guan Heng, a 38-year-old Chinese national, to remain in the United States after the court determined that he provided credible testimony and met the legal threshold required for asylum protection.

Guan has been in US immigration detention since August after being swept up in an enforcement operation linked to a broader deportation push initiated during the Trump administration. His case drew widespread attention from human rights groups and lawmakers due to the sensitive nature of the evidence he helped bring to light.

Judge Cites Risk of Retaliation by Chinese Authorities

Immigration Judge Charles Ouslander, delivering the decision in Napanoch, New York, stated that Guan had demonstrated a legitimate fear of reprisals from Chinese officials. The judge noted that Chinese police had questioned Guan’s family members multiple times in an apparent effort to determine his whereabouts and activities.

“The respondent has established a reasonable fear of persecution,” the judge said, according to court proceedings, underscoring concerns about retaliation for Guan’s actions if he were forced to return to China.

Guan entered the United States without authorization in 2021 and later applied for asylum. The Department of Homeland Security initially attempted to deport him to Uganda, a move that was abandoned in December after public scrutiny intensified and concerns were raised on Capitol Hill, the Associated Press reported.

Secret Recordings from Xinjiang at Center of Case

The case centers on footage Guan secretly recorded in Xinjiang in 2020, which showed detention facilities that activists say are part of a mass incarceration campaign targeting ethnic minorities, particularly Uyghur Muslims.

Human rights organizations estimate that up to one million people may have been detained in the region. The Chinese government has consistently denied allegations of abuse, insisting that the facilities are vocational education and training centers designed to combat extremism.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Guan rejected claims that he recorded the footage to bolster a future asylum application. Speaking via video link from the Broome County Correctional Facility through a court-appointed translator, he told the judge, “I sympathized with the Uyghurs who were persecuted.”

Daring Escape and Global Journey to the US

Guan said he knew it was unsafe to release the video while still in China. In an interview with the Associated Press, he described fleeing the country through Hong Kong before traveling to Ecuador, the Bahamas, and eventually reaching Florida by boat in October 2021.

“I didn’t know whether I would survive the boat trip,” Guan said, explaining that his primary goal was to ensure the footage reached the outside world. Most of the videos were uploaded to YouTube before his arrival in the United States.

Guan also testified that his father was interrogated by Chinese authorities on three separate occasions after the footage became public, reinforcing his fear of retaliation.

Lawyer Calls Ruling a Test Case for Asylum Protections

Guan’s attorney, Chen Chuangchuang, described the ruling as a textbook example of why asylum laws exist, arguing that the United States has both a moral and legal responsibility to protect individuals who expose human rights violations.

Despite the favorable ruling, Guan was not immediately released from detention. The Department of Homeland Security has 30 days to file an appeal against the decision.

The case is being closely watched by immigration advocates and human rights groups, who say it highlights the risks faced by whistleblowers and dissidents seeking protection from authoritarian governments.