Los Angeles [US], October 18 Chinese democracy advocate Zhou Junyi has spent over four months in Thai custody after being arrested for alleged visa violations, and now faces the grave possibility of deportation to China, where he could endure severe punishment for his political activism, as reported by The Epoch Times.
The case has sparked alarm among global human rights defenders and pro-democracy circles.
According to The Epoch Times, Zhou, a member of the China Democracy Party, fled his homeland in 2015 after Chinese authorities seized his passport upon his return from a US pro-democracy conference. He made his way through Laos into Thailand, long considered a safer transit country for Chinese dissidents seeking UN asylum or protection.
The image of safety is rapidly deteriorating. Zhou was arrested by Thai police on June 11, just days after participating in a public event in Bangkok commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, a gathering that reportedly drew China's attention.
Over the years, Zhou has been active in organising Tiananmen memorials and championing political prisoners detained in China and Hong Kong. His recent efforts to establish a Tiananmen Memorial Museum in Thailand likely further angered Chinese officials.
Following his arrest, members of the China Democracy Party in Los Angeles launched a campaign urging Thai authorities to ensure Zhou's humane treatment. Party chairman Jie Lijian stated that Zhou has refused to sign deportation documents, even as suspected Chinese agents attempted to pressure him during visits to the detention facility. Jie warned that Zhou's repatriation would almost certainly result in imprisonment or worse, The Epoch Times reported.
Zhou's case mirrors a disturbing pattern of China's transnational repression. Several other instances, including the deportation of Uyghur detainees in February and the past abductions of Chinese activists and publishers from Southeast Asia.
Thailand's increasing economic dependence on China and fear of retaliation have eroded its neutrality. Beijing's global hunt for dissenters extends far beyond its borders. For activists like Zhou Junyi, Thailand, once a refuge, now represents a frontline in the CCP's campaign to silence critics everywhere.