China’s High-Tech Repression and Freedom of Religion, the second annual Geneva Forum, took place in Switzerland on November 14 – 15. The Forum is convened by the Tibetan Government-in-Exile and brings together leaders and human rights activists to discuss the continued violations of human rights by the Chinese Government. The focus this year the continued use of surveillance by the Chinese government to repress both religious and social freedoms.The event was attended by around 130 representatives from ten countries including some European countries, Canada, Tibet support groups from Hong Kong and Taiwan, and from the Uyghur and Falun Gong communities, as well as Swiss Members of Parliament.
The moderator of the discussion, Special Appointee for Human Rights Thinley Chukki, stated that according to the 2019 Freedom House report*, China was the, “worse abuser of internet freedom in 2019.” China has over 200 million CCTV cameras in use to monitor movement, the internet and phones and in Tibet, DNA samples of Tibetans are being monitored. Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, President of the Central Tibetan Administration, stated in his address, “[the] Jokhang temple in Lhasa, which is the holiest shrine for Tibetan Buddhists, has more guns in it than butter lamps and has more cameras then windows”.
The panelists aimed to show the world that this is not just a Tibetan problem. Taiwan, which has no internet security law in place, has had their media and internet overrun by China. They concluded that trough internet and government surveillance, fake news sources and censorship, China has been able to subjugate Taiwan. The discussion then focused on the fact that China has been working to distribute their surveillance equipment across the globe: they have provided the business district of Manila in the Philippines with internet cameras that work to monitor, and detect, crime. China remains one of the only countries not to enter into any international agreement to control the export of weapons and technology.
The Geneva Forum released a declaration calling upon governments, “to stop funding/investing in research and manufacturing of surveillance tools by China.” The panelists argued that the situation in Tibet, with numerous cameras, and all communication and religious sites monitored, is a possible future for the whole world, saying that this will happen unless we, collectively, put pressure on China to stop violating privacy.
* Freedom House is an independent watchdog organisation dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world.
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