Issued today by the State Department:
Exercise increased caution in China due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws as well as special restrictions on dual U.S.-Chinese nationals.
Chinese authorities have asserted broad authority to prohibit U.S. citizens from leaving China by using ‘exit bans,’ sometimes keeping U.S. citizens in China for years.
China uses exit bans coercively: to compel U.S. citizens to participate in Chinese government investigations, to lure individuals back to China from abroad, and to aid Chinese authorities in resolving civil disputes in favor of Chinese parties.
In most cases, U.S. citizens only become aware of the exit ban when they attempt to depart China, and there is no method to find out how long the ban may continue. U.S. citizens under exit bans have been harassed and threatened.
Warning from @StateDept about China travel: Chinese authorities are using “exit bans” to force US citizens to stay in China. They “may be detained without access to US consular services” & “subjected to prolonged interrogations and extended detention.” https://t.co/8leGP67YRJ
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) January 3, 2019
There's a solid substantive case for this action in the context of China, but shouldn't the Whelan case provoke a similar warning for Russia? https://t.co/tQ7akszazz
— Ned Price (@nedprice) January 3, 2019