An Australian journalist who fell into China’s net of secret detention and show trials, warns others to be wary of travelling to China. Taiwan News reports:
Cheng advised would-be travelers to carefully assess the situation in China. She said that she is highly wary of actions by the Chinese government taken under the guise of protecting “national security.”
The journalist advised “naive people” against going. She said that only travelers who are “fully educated about the risks” should consider visiting.
Keoni Everington. “Journalist previously jailed in China says people should study Mandarin in Taiwan”. Taiwan News. November 11, 2023.
We previously wrote about a Taiwanese businessman who endured 4 years trapped in China, after passing from Hong Kong into Shenzhen for a two-day trip. He was arrested as he tried to exit the mainland for having pro-Hong Kong postcards in his belongings. He was held in the secret detention before the authorities found something heavier to charge him with: sending photos of military vehicles parked outside of his hotel to friends in Taiwan — a violation of Chinese national security, supposedly.
The United States State Department warns about travel to China, citing these very same concerns. Highlights added by Monkton:
The Department of State has determined the risk of wrongful detention of U.S. nationals by the PRC government exists in the PRC.
U.S. citizens traveling or residing in the PRC may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime. U.S. citizens in the PRC may be subjected to interrogations and detention without fair and transparent treatment under the law.
Foreigners in the PRC, including but not limited to businesspeople, former foreign-government personnel, academics, relatives of PRC citizens involved in legal disputes, and journalists have been interrogated and detained by PRC officials for alleged violations of PRC national security laws. The PRC has also interrogated, detained, and expelled U.S. citizens living and working in the PRC.
PRC authorities appear to have broad discretion to deem a wide range of documents, data, statistics, or materials as state secrets and to detain and prosecute foreign nationals for alleged espionage. There is increased official scrutiny of U.S. and third-country firms, such as professional service and due diligence companies, operating in the PRC. Security personnel could detain U.S. citizens or subject them to prosecution for conducting research or accessing publicly available material inside the PRC.
….U.S. citizens might only become aware of an exit ban when they attempt to depart the PRC, and there may be no available legal process to contest an exit ban in a court of law. Relatives, including minor children, of those under investigation in the PRC may become subject to an exit ban.
China Travel Advisory. U.S. Department of State. June 30, 2023.
