Jeffrey Wasserstrom, a professor of history at the University of California, Irvine, was quoted by CNN as saying that he would never set foot in China as long as Xi Jinping, the Communist Party’s general secretary, remained in power.
The report notes that Wasserstrom has visited China several times a year for decades, staying in the land of God throughout 2018. His research has not been on the most sensitive issues of Tibet or Taiwan, but he has written about multiculturalism and student protests in mainland China and has appeared to engage with people he says the Communist Party is “clearly unhappy” with.
He reportedly wrote an article in solidarity with the Chinese school movement and even supported the Hong Kong anti-sending China movement, saying that the current situation, after setting foot in China will likely be detained indefinitely, although the chances are very low, but once the situation is true, the consequences will be very serious, so do not want to risk.
The Hong Kong Baptist University, for example, cancelled a world press photo exhibition scheduled to be held on the university’s campus on security grounds, and the Hong Kong Public Library took down many books written by Huang Zhifeng, Chen Shuzhuang and Chen Yun. Hua Zhijian described that in the past, he thought that after giving up going to China, he would instead come to Hong Kong more often, “but I now feel that Hong Kong is actually not safe either.
Wah’s case is just the tip of the iceberg.
CNN interviewed more than a dozen academics, NGO staff and media workers who had traveled regularly to China before the Newcastle pneumonia outbreak, but said they would be reluctant to return to China even if the Epidemic restrictions were lifted one day because they feared for their personal safety. Some in the international business community say they need to be careful what they say when they are not in China to avoid upsetting the Chinese Communist Party and affecting their business.
The bizarre detention of a handful of foreigners in China in recent years has struck fear into the hearts of many Westerners, especially those in politically connected professions. As President Xi Jinping promotes a Culture of nationalism and engages in war-wolf diplomacy with Western governments, some fear they could be targeted in a diplomatic spat between their governments and Beijing in China.
Many see the detention of two Canadians in December 2018 as a turning point in the matter. The Chinese Communist Party arrested Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat, and Michael Spavor, another Canadian citizen, after huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was detained in Vancouver following her arrest in connection with a lawsuit filed in the United States. Their detention was seen as a bargaining chip by the Chinese Communist Party to pressure Canada to release Meng, but Beijing denies the allegation.
In addition, Cheng Lei, an Australian journalist for China’s CCTV-owned China Global Television Network (CGTV), was detained last August, but the Chinese did not charge her with leaking state secrets until February of this year. Kang Mingkai and Spavor were charged with “spying on state secrets” by the Chinese Communist Party last year.
American Gordon Mathews, chair of the anthropology department at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said several of his colleagues who have spent their lives studying China are also trying to redirect their research to avoid visiting the country.
William Nee, of the American civil society group China Human Rights Defenders, is also afraid to go to China again, he said, adding that some of his friends around him have decided not to visit China because they think the risk factor is lower than that of Cummings and Spavor. Nee said that the problem is no longer just “what did I do that led to my detention,” but that anyone can be jinxed simply because of their nationality, saying that if China arrests academics and think tank members, “it’s hard for anyone to feel safe.
The report also cited Thomas Nunlist, an analyst at Hill & Associates, a risk management consultancy, as saying that multinational companies have become significantly more concerned about the risk of employee detention in recent years, and that while the risk of detention for businessmen, students and tourists in general remains low, the “risk factor” is increasing. The “risk factor” is increasing, with those who are dual nationals, have political ties or government backgrounds being at greater risk.
Nonglister said China has made more than 50 arrests of foreigners between 2009 and 2020, about half of which involved “sensitive activities” such as human rights or North Korea, but some of those arrested were simply studying Chinese history and geography, areas that were previously considered politically insensitive. In addition to direct detention, the Chinese government may also try to prevent some foreigners from leaving the country, creating a disguised detention effect, with foreigners of Chinese descent being the most at risk, but there are also non-Chinese people affected, including Irish businessman Richard O’Halloran, who has not yet been able to return to China.
China’s Foreign Ministry responded that the claim that foreigners are at increased risk of arbitrary detention is not true, stressing that China has always protected the rights and safety of foreigners in China, and that many foreigners have shared their experiences of living and working in China on the Internet and social media sites, describing China as the safest country they have ever lived in, and that “even walking on the streets at night, I am not afraid. “. China’s Foreign Ministry also said Meng’s experience in Canada was what made her detention arbitrary and hoped she would return to China as soon as possible.
Last December, the U.S. government issued a travel advisory for nationals traveling to China, stating that the Chinese government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including arbitrary and wrongful detention, and restricts U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries from leaving the country without due process of law. “The Travel Advisory also states that the Chinese government uses arbitrary detentions and restrictions on foreign nationals to, among other things, compel individuals to participate in investigations by the Chinese government, force Family members to return to China from abroad, influence Chinese authorities to resolve civil disputes in favor of Chinese citizens, and as a bargaining chip against foreign governments.
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