US urged to protect Chinese who exposed Uyghur detention camps

WASHINGTON (MNTV) — Reporters Without Borders has urged the United States government to halt deportation proceedings and grant asylum to a Chinese national who documented detention facilities in East Turkistan, also known as China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, warning that his removal could place him at grave risk.

The appeal concerns Guan Heng, a Chinese citizen who secretly filmed facilities linked to the mass detention of ethnic Uyghurs in the region. RSF said the footage, later shared publicly online, played a significant role in enabling international journalism in a region that has become largely inaccessible to independent reporters.

Guan has been held in U.S. immigration detention since August 2025 after being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement near Albany, New York, where he had been residing while awaiting an asylum decision. 

Although U.S. authorities abandoned plans in December to deport him to Uganda, RSF said he remains in custody and faces continued risk of removal. He is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge on January 12, 2026.

According to RSF, Guan filmed hours of video in 2020 documenting what rights groups describe as detention infrastructure central to Beijing’s campaign of repression against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in East Turkistan. He fled China in 2021 and later entered the United States, where he published the material and formally sought asylum.

RSF said Guan’s footage provided rare corroborating evidence for major international investigations at a time when foreign journalists were barred from freely operating in the region. The organization noted that such material was critical for reporting on alleged abuses, given the extensive surveillance, restrictions and intimidation imposed by Chinese authorities.

The U.S. government has previously determined that China’s actions in the region amount to crimes against humanity and genocide — a designation first made during the administration of Donald Trump and maintained by subsequent US officials. Beijing rejects the allegations, stating that its policies are aimed at countering extremism and promoting stability.

RSF warned that individuals linked to reporting on East Turkistan, including journalists, sources and researchers, frequently face retaliation, including transnational repression targeting those who flee abroad. The organization said dozens of journalists and press freedom advocates remain detained in the region.

China is ranked near the bottom of RSF’s World Press Freedom Index and is described by the watchdog as the world’s largest jailer of journalists. RSF said the outcome of Guan’s case would have broader implications for the protection of whistleblowers and sources who assist international reporting from highly restricted regions.