Chinese national Guan Heng, who filmed Xinjiang facilities, granted US asylum

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Associated PressJanuary 29, 2026 at 12:53 AM

AI Summary

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In 2021, Guan Heng, a 38-year-old Chinese national, illegally entered the U.S. and applied for asylum, citing fear of persecution if returned to China. Guan had secretly filmed detention facilities in Xinjiang in 2020, documenting potential human rights abuses against ethnic minorities, particularly Uyghurs. The Department of Homeland Security initially sought to deport him to Uganda, but later dropped the plan. On Wednesday, an immigration judge in Napanoch, New York, granted Guan asylum, determining he had a well-founded fear of persecution in China due to his exposure of the Xinjiang facilities. Guan testified that his motivation for filming was to show sympathy for the Uyghurs and not to create grounds for asylum.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Broome County Correctional Facility 30% Napanoch, New York 30% Uganda 40% Trump administration 50% Department of Homeland Security 60% Uygurs ×260% Xinjiang ×370% United States ×280% China ×290% Guan Heng ×7100%

Keywords

asylum 100% human rights abuses 90% xinjiang 80% detention facilities 70% uygurs 70% persecution 60% guan heng 50% immigration 50% deportation 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Positive

Score: 0.30

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

China

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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asylum human rights abuses xinjiang detention facilities uygurs persecution guan heng immigration deportation

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