HONG KONG听–听China is increasingly barring people from leaving the country, including foreign executives, a jarring message as the authorities say the country is open for business after three years of tight COVID-19 restrictions.
Scores of Chinese and foreigners have been ensnared by听别虫颈迟听bans, according to a new report by the rights group Safeguard Defenders, while a Reuters analysis聽has found an聽apparent surge of court cases involving such听产补苍蝉听in recent years, and foreign business lobbies are voicing concern about the trend.
“Since听齿颈听Jinping took power in 2012, China has expanded the legal landscape for听别虫颈迟听产补苍蝉听and increasingly used them, sometimes outside legal justification,” the Safeguard Defenders聽听谤别补诲蝉.
“Between 2018 and July of this year, no less than five new or amended (Chinese) laws provide for the use of听别虫颈迟听bans, for a total today of 15 laws,” said Laura Harth, the group’s campaign director.
The group estimates “tens of thousands” of Chinese are banned from听别虫颈迟听at any one time. It also cites a 2022 academic paper by Chris Carr and Jack Wroldsen that found 128 cases of foreigners being听别虫颈迟-banned between 1995 and 2019, including 29 Americans and 44 Canadians.
Attention on the听别虫颈迟听产补苍蝉听comes as China-US tensions have risen over trade and security disputes. This contrasts with听颁丑颈苍补’蝉听message that it is opening up to overseas investment and travel, emerging from the isolation of some of the world’s tightest COVID curbs.
The Reuters analysis of records on听别虫颈迟听bans, from听颁丑颈苍补’蝉听Supreme Court database, shows an eight-fold increase in cases mentioning听产补苍蝉听between 2016 and 2022.
China last week beefed up its聽聽law, allowing听别虫颈迟听产补苍蝉听to be imposed on anyone, Chinese or foreign,聽who is听耻苍诲别谤听investigation.
Most of the cases in the database referring to听别虫颈迟听产补苍蝉听are civil, not criminal. Reuters did not find any involving foreigners or听辫辞濒颈迟颈肠补濒ly sensitive subversion or national security issues.
By comparison, the US and European Union impose travel听产补苍蝉听on some criminal suspects but generally not for civil claims.
DUE DILIGENCE
颁丑颈苍补’蝉听Ministry of Public Security did not respond to Reuters requests for comment on听别虫颈迟听bans, including inquiries on how many individuals, including foreigners, are subject to them.
One person prevented from leaving China this year is a Singaporean executive at the US due-diligence firm Mintz Group, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The company, the executive and听颁丑颈苍补’蝉听Public Security Bureau did not respond to requests for comment.
聽said in late March the authorities had raided the firm’s China office and detained five local staff. The foreign ministry said at the time Mintz was suspected of engaging in unlawful business operations. Police visited聽 & Co’s office in Shanghai and questioned staff, the US management consultancy said last week.
“Because of rising tensions between the US and China, the salience of this (别虫颈迟听ban) risk has risen,” said Lester Ross, a veteran lawyer in China who has handled听别虫颈迟听ban cases.
“I’ve seen a rise in companies and entities being concerned about this and asking for our advice on how to prepare and reduce risks” of听别虫颈迟听bans, said Ross, the head of the American Chamber of Commerce’s China policy committee.
‘UNCERTAINTY IS HUGE’
Foreign businesses are concerned about the heightened scrutiny and the vague wording of the counter-espionage legislation, which says听别虫颈迟听产补苍蝉听can be imposed on those who cause “harm to the national security or significant damage to national interests”.
“The uncertainty is huge,” said Jorg Wuttke, head of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. “Can you do due diligence? Clarity has to come.”
The EU chamber told Reuters in a statement: “At a time when China is proactively trying to restore business confidence to attract foreign investment, the听别虫颈迟听产补苍蝉听send a very mixed signal.”
People barred from leaving China include regular Chinese embroiled in financial disputes as well as rights defenders, activists and lawyers, and ethnic minorities such as Uyghurs in听颁丑颈苍补’蝉听northwestern听齿颈苍箩颈补苍驳听region, according聽to the Safeguard Defenders report.
It cites a Chinese judicial report saying 34,000 people were placed听耻苍诲别谤听别虫颈迟听产补苍蝉听between 2016 and 2018 for owing money, a 55% rise from the same period three years earlier.
Some activists say the wider use of听别虫颈迟听产补苍蝉听reflects tighter security measures听耻苍诲别谤听President听齿颈.
“They can find any reason to stop you from leaving the country,” said听齿颈ang Li, a Chinese rights activist who was denied听别虫颈迟听for two years before escaping from China in 2017 and later receiving asylum in the United States.
“China doesn’t have the rule of law,” she told Reuters by phone from California. “The law is used to serve the purposes of the Chinese Communist Party. It’s very effective.” – Reuters
