China imposes exit bans on citizens and foreign nationals, a stark contrast to lifting bans for business after the pandemic
China shut its borders in 2020, at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been three years since the country permitted foreign nationals to enter. After several restrictive measures, China is open for business. However, thousands of Chinese and foreign nationals are trapped in China because of exit bans.
Safeguard Defenders, ahuman rights group, has published a report on the ban and its effect on people. An independent analysis showcases an unprecedented surge in legal cases regarding exit bans. Foreign businesses are voicing their concern regarding the new trend.
As per the Safeguard Defenders report, since Xi Jinping came into power, China has increased the parameters of the exit bans. These extensions have been used unjustly outside of legal reasoning.
Laura Harth, Safeguard Defenders campaign manager, stated that since 2018, China has passed or amended five laws regarding the bans bringing the total to fifteen laws today. There has been an eightfold increase in bans between 2016 and 2022.
Reasons for imposing exit bans
One of the top reasons for the heightened security is the rising tension between the United States and China. Lester Ross, a veteran lawyer who handles exit ban cases from China, states that the current political relations between the nations have increased the importance of the bans.
China has also tightened its counter-espionage laws. The new provisions under the law ban the transfer of information regarding national security. It has also broadened the definition of spying. The new law was passed after a three-day deliberation, the first since 2014.
President Xi Jinping’s administrative motive is national security and a strict regime. However, the revisions do not clearly define China’s national interests and security.
Other reasons include controlling ethnic and religious groups such as the Uyghurs in the northwestern Xinjiang province, engaging in hostage diplomacy, and intimidating journalists.
Overview of Safeguard Defenders Report
Safeguard Defenders is a not-for-profit organisation. It was established to monitor disappearances in China. The organisation has been in Madrid, Spain, since 2019.
The organisation released a report titled ‘Trapped: China’s Expanded Use of Exit Bans’. The report studies the increase in cases involving exit bans and its effects on people. According to the report, a few hundred thousand citizens are detained per year.
These bans are inhumane and often violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Freedom of Movement.
The Concern of Foreign Businesses
Foreign businesses have shown extreme concern regarding the new trends. They are worried that since the new law is vague, it cannot clarify who can and cannot be detained.
Joerg Wuttke, head of the European Union Chamber of Commerce states that China has to clarify these matters. Since China opened its borders to foreign businesses, the bans have sent mixed signals to foreign citizens.
Escaping from China
The struggle to get the ban lifted on detained individuals is hard. Hence, many detained individuals resort to illegal means such as smuggling to escape. Xiang Li is one of the prominent detainees to escape.
Xiang Li, an artist and activist, escaped to Thailand in 2017 after being detained for two years. There was no official explanation for her detention. She was later granted asylum in America.
Xiang Li stated that she felt the ban would never be lifted, so she resorted to other means of escape. She continues that the laws in China serve the Communist Party and do not have the public’s interest at heart.
