7 Uyghur acrobats defect on Canadian tour

Seven acrobats belonging to China’s Muslim Uyghur minority and performing on a Lunar New Year tour in Canada have sought permission to remain in Canada as refugees, RFA’s Uyghur service reports.

The seven, part of a 12-member troupe, had performed in Toronto at the Great Light of Chinese New Year Spring Festival from Jan. 22-26. They were scheduled for two performances in Ottawa at the Lansdowne Park Center from Jan. 27-29.

Because of low attendance at the first show in Ottawa, the second was cancelled and the performers given free time for shopping and sightseeing—during which time seven acrobats vacated their hotel.

“They contacted me while they were in Toronto and asked for my help before they had come to the decision to escape in Ottawa,” one Uyghur man who helped the acrobats defect told RFA. He spoke on condition of anonymity.

“I drove the seven Uyghurs, five men and two women, back to Toronto and escorted them to an immigration office there on Monday. They didn’t have their passports because the troupe leader had held onto their passports and air tickets,” he said.

The seven acrobats filled out the paperwork to apply for refugee status, the source said. “Their refugee claims were based on serious human rights violations that occurred in the Uyghur Autonomous Region during the 1990s. Their conditions have deteriorated every year, especially since Sept. 11,” the man said.

Phone calls to the immigration authorities in Toronto during business hours went unreturned.

The five Uyghurs remaining in the troupe—which includes record-breaking high-rope walker Adili Uxuer—postponed their return flight to China, apparently hoping the seven would return. They ultimately flew back to Beijing and then Urumqi Feb. 4, the source said.