The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday denied that U.S. citizens in China face the threat of arbitrary arrest. Earlier, the influential Wall Street Journal reported that Beijing warned Washington that China could detain U.S. citizens in China if the U.S. Justice Department prosecutes academics linked to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, known as “War Wolf” diplomat, said at a regular press conference on October 19, when asked about the WSJ report, that the U.S. claim that foreign nationals are being “arbitrarily detained” in China is a complete reversal of the truth.
The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday (Oct. 17), citing anonymous sources, that the Chinese government has warned U.S. government agencies, including the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, through multiple channels, of the possible detention of U.S. citizens in China due to the U.S. Department of Justice’s prosecution of academics associated with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
China has stated directly that the United States should stop prosecuting PLA scholars, or Americans in China may find themselves “in violation” of Chinese law, the report said.
This summer, the United States arrested a number of visiting Chinese scholars conducting research at U.S. universities and charged them with visa fraud for concealing their PLA military service status from U.S. immigration officials, the report said. Shortly thereafter, the Chinese government began issuing warnings to the United States.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson declined to confirm this to the Wall Street Journal, except to say, “We are warning U.S. citizens who face commercial disputes, court-ordered settlements, or investigations by the Chinese government in criminal or civil cases that they may be barred from leaving China until the matter is concluded.”
In September, the U.S. State Department issued a travel alert advising Americans not to travel to China, citing, among other reasons, the Chinese government’s ability to gain an advantage in negotiations between the two countries by detaining foreign nationals.
John Demers, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, told the Wall Street Journal, “We know that the Chinese government has previously detained Americans, Canadians, and citizens of other countries in unlawful circumstances in retaliation for Chinese nationals being legally prosecuted in other countries. They hope to use this to put pressure on those countries.”
Deems would not comment on the latest Wall Street Journal report, but stressed that if China wants to be considered a major country in the world, they should abide by the rule of law and stop holding foreign nationals as “hostages.
The Chinese government has denied accusations of “hostage diplomacy,” saying that the arrests of foreign nationals were merely an attempt to enforce the law and protect China’s national security.
PLA scholar Tang Juan went into hiding at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco in June of this year after being interviewed by the FBI for an investigation. When Tang Juan left the consulate in July, the FBI arrested her. Tang was released on bail in late August. The Chinese government had hoped that the United States would let Tang Juan leave the Chinese consulate and return to China.
Reports indicate that in addition to Tang Juan, four other PLA scholars are currently facing the same visa fraud charges, two of whom are expected to appear in court in November.
President Trump’s administration has in recent years accused China of using cyber hacking and espionage to steal U.S. technical, military and other information. Beijing has denied this.
In addition, Canadian law enforcement authorities, at the request of the United States, arrested Meng Wanzhou, a Huawei executive and daughter of Ren Zhengfei, at the Vancouver airport on December 1, 2018, and initiated judicial proceedings to extradite Meng to the United States. The United States charged Meng Wanzhou with bank fraud.
Subsequently, on December 10, China arrested former Canadian diplomat Mingkai Kang and businessman Spavor, accusing them of engaging in so-called “espionage. The cases against Kang and Spavor were referred to the courts for prosecution in June of this year.
Beijing’s capture of Mingkai and Spavor is widely seen as “hostage diplomacy” to pressure Canada to release Meng Wanzhou. China has repeatedly urged Canada to release Meng, while denying the “hostage diplomacy” claim.
After Meng’s arrest by Canada, Canada-China relations hit a low point. Beijing retaliated against Canada by sentencing two other Canadians to death in 2019 on drug smuggling charges. China has also banned imports of large quantities of Canadian agricultural products.
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