Washington: The US State Department has issued a new travel advisory urging Americans who have trips to China planned to think twice about going because they may be subject to "arbitrary" law enforcement, unwarranted detention, and even espionage charges for merely "conducting research" on publicly available information.
The Chinese government "appears to have broad discretion to declare a variety of documents, data, statistics, or materials as state secrets and to detain and prosecute foreign nationals for alleged espionage," the department said in its updated advisory. "Security personnel may detain US citizens or prosecute them if they conduct research or access freely available information inside the PRC."
According to the advisory, Americans who are visiting or residing in China run the risk of being detained, subjected to questioning, and denied knowledge of the accusations levelled against them while being denied access to consular services. According to the department, Beijin "arbitrarily enforces local laws, including issuing exit bans on US citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law."
The advisory advised Americans to "keep a low profile," to stay away from protests, and to refrain from photographing police or demonstrators without their consent. The department also issued a warning that US citizens who send electronic messages criticising the Chinese government risk being imprisoned or expelled. Charges for participating in demonstrations may be brought.
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Beijing has reacted angrily to previous travel warnings from Washington, claiming that the fact that it welcomes millions of American tourists annually—far more than Chinese nationals—"speaks volumes for the security conditions in China." In June 2019, China issued a similar caution, informing its citizens that frequent shootings, robberies, and thefts made visiting the US risky. The Chinese government has also issued warnings about anti-Asian prejudice in US
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