[ad_1]
Beijing: The United States recommended that Americans reconsider travel to China due to arbitrary law enforcement and exit Prohibition and the risk of wrongful arrests. No specific cases were cited, but the warning came after a 78-year-old US citizen was sentenced to life in prison for espionage in May. It also follows the passage of a sweeping foreign relations law last week that threatens countermeasures against those seen as harming China’s interests. China also recently passed a wide-ranging anti-espionage law that sent a chill in the foreign business community, with offices raided, as well as a law to punish foreign critics.
“The Chinese government arbitrarily applies domestic laws, including issuing exit bans on US citizens and nationals of other countries, without fair and transparent procedures under the law,” the US advisory said. It warned that “US citizens traveling or residing in China may be detained without access to US consular services or information about their alleged crimes.”
The warning also said Chinese authorities “appear to have wide discretion in deeming a wide range of documents, data, statistics or materials to be state secrets and to detain and prosecute foreign nationals for espionage.”
It listed a wide range of possible crimes, from participating in demonstrations to sending emails critical of Chinese policies or even conducting research in areas considered sensitive. The warning said the exit ban could be used to force individuals to participate in Chinese government investigations, pressure family members to return from abroad, resolve civil disputes in favor of Chinese nationals, and “gain negotiating leverage over foreign governments.” Similar warnings were issued for the semi-autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau. ap
“The Chinese government arbitrarily applies domestic laws, including issuing exit bans on US citizens and nationals of other countries, without fair and transparent procedures under the law,” the US advisory said. It warned that “US citizens traveling or residing in China may be detained without access to US consular services or information about their alleged crimes.”
The warning also said Chinese authorities “appear to have wide discretion in deeming a wide range of documents, data, statistics or materials to be state secrets and to detain and prosecute foreign nationals for espionage.”
It listed a wide range of possible crimes, from participating in demonstrations to sending emails critical of Chinese policies or even conducting research in areas considered sensitive. The warning said the exit ban could be used to force individuals to participate in Chinese government investigations, pressure family members to return from abroad, resolve civil disputes in favor of Chinese nationals, and “gain negotiating leverage over foreign governments.” Similar warnings were issued for the semi-autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau. ap
[ad_2]
