Sorsak, a party-list MP from the People’s Party, has urged the government to release Zhang Xin Yan, a Chinese democracy activist, pointing out that detaining and obstructing her asylum violates international law and risks sending her back to danger faced in China.
On 11 July 2026, Thai authorities reportedly blocked 54-year-old Zhang Xin Yan, a Chinese democracy activist and member of the Hong Kong Parliament group, from traveling to seek asylum in Canada. She was detained at the Suan Phlu immigration detention center on 9 July for overstaying.
Sorsak Somrakaisakrit, a party-list Member of Parliament from the People’s Party, expressed serious concern over the Thai government’s actions, saying they destroy the opportunity for asylum seekers to find safety and risk forcibly returning her to China. Zhang is wanted in Chinese security cases with a bounty of HKD 200,000. He said this behavior severely violates humanitarian principles and international norms in three main areas.
1. Violation of customary international law: Although Thailand is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, the principle of non-refoulement is customary law that all states must follow. Using the overstay charge to detain someone already accepted by a third country ignores her status as a political refugee.
2. Breach of domestic law: Such forced return clearly violates Section 13 of the 2022 Anti-Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act, which prohibits the state from expelling or returning anyone to face danger or torture.
3. Undermining international relations: Blocking her travel to Canada, which had accepted her resettlement, is an unprincipled act that reinforces the image of a government willing to abandon ethical commitments to appease a major power, further isolating Thailand from the international community.
Sorsak stated the demands of the People’s Party as a party-list MP to the Thai government:
1. Immediately release Zhang Xin Yan and allow her to travel to Canada, ending the obstruction and strictly prohibiting her return to China.
2. Stop using immigration laws as tools to violate rights; cease treating asylum seekers as illegal immigrants and resist external pressures.
3. Seriously enforce Section 13 of the Anti-Torture Act as protection for all asylum seekers against being returned to detention, torture, or life-threatening danger.
4. Establish mechanisms to recognize and grant temporary residency status so refugees awaiting resettlement in third countries have lawful status.