Many Chinese people traveling to the United States will fly to Turkey through Bangkok Airport in Thailand. Pictured is Bangkok Airport. (Wikipedia Public Domain)
[The Epoch Times, February 11, 2024](Epoch Times reporters Song Tang and Yi Ru interviewed and reported) Since the epidemic, there have been increasing reports of mainland Chinese people fleeing abroad because they cannot bear the high pressure at home, as recently as Japan and Singapore. , Thailand and Southeast Asia, and as far away as the United States, Canada, and Europe. With the recent explosive growth of Chinese people traveling to the United States, news about mainland China tightening restrictions on overseas travel have spread intensively. Many interviewees told The Epoch Times that in order to crack down on wire-travelers, the authorities have stepped up checks on overseas travel, and some wire-travelers have been detained by customs.
Authorities spy on overseas travelers
Compared with the current large-scale reports by overseas media about Chinese people traveling to the United States, the mainland media has been silent, almost blocking similar topics, and rarely appears on social media. When reporters searched for “routing” on Douyin, they basically found negative videos about routing. There was also a video on Douyin saying that after the authorities cracked down on Myanmar’s fraud center, the next step was to crack down on routing. In the overseas version of Tiktok, if I enter the Chinese character “routing”, I can no longer find the wiring video.
Chinese people’s routes vary greatly. Some people with sufficient funds can enter Mexico through a Schengen visa or a day visa; some people use a Korean visa to enter Panama without a visa; and some people directly obtain a Mexican visa under the arrangement of an agency and complete the crossing by the shortest route.
But some people took a longer route. They first flew to Thailand, then flew from Thailand to Turkey, and then from Turkey to Ecuador; some people flew to Turkey via Hong Kong, etc.
Mr. Lu, who is doing business in Thailand, told The Epoch Times that China (the Chinese Communist Party) has strengthened exit controls. As long as you follow a tour group, there is no problem in visiting Thailand. People will not ask questions. However, if you travel independently, there is a high probability that you will be detained. Time to ask, why go to Thailand?
“The authorities are worried that after you go to Thailand, you may go from Thailand to Turkey, South America, and the United States. I learned that there is another place in Chengdu, Luoyang, and people who came from the three places told me that when you leave the country, because they are If you travel freely, you will be questioned, and the shortest time is 25 minutes.”
Mr. Lu analyzed that the reason why the customs interrogated people like this was that they must have received requests from their superiors to strictly investigate the purpose of leaving the country.
Mr. Zhang, who just came out of China, told The Epoch Times that when they came out in September last year, it was relatively normal and there were no restrictions. But in December, when they were buying tickets at the Thai airport and preparing to fly from Bangkok to Turkey, they saw many Chinese flights canceled on the airport sign.
Mr. Zhang said that a friend of his also went to Turkey, but at a different time. He bought a ticket that required a transfer in Chengdu, that is, he flew from Bangkok to Chengdu and then to Turkey. When he entered Chengdu Airport, the airport staff started to stop him and dragged him to the China area, making every possible effort to prevent him from leaving. Fortunately, he was smart and there was a Turk next to him, so he didn’t cross the border at the airport. “Once he enters the airport and passes through the border, he will definitely not be able to get out if he enters the Chinese area. Thinking about it, this is a rather scary thing.”
“It started to be tightened at the beginning of December. I heard about it before, but we experienced it firsthand along the way.” Mr. Zhang said.
People eat noodles at a food stall in Bangkok’s Chinatown on May 17, 2020. (Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)
Mr. Yang, a Chinese from Thailand, told The Epoch Times that the tourists he comes into contact with are mainly in groups and very few are independent travellers. However, he believes that self-guided tours will definitely be tightened.
“Those who are able to run, most people have basically finished running after the epidemic is over. There are still some echelons behind, because they have families, children, real estate, and business that have not been dealt with, so they have to run slowly.” He said, crackdown It is certain to go online, because there are too many Chinese people walking away from home now.
Mr. Yang mentioned that not long ago, he came into contact with two people who wanted to go to the United States. In order to be safe, they went to Hong Kong first. In fact, they can also go directly to South America from China, but they were afraid that if they bought from China, their intentions would be discovered at once, so Just go to Hong Kong first, and then start the route to Ecuador.
“Many Chinese people have never even drunk tea. This way they will not attract attention and the Communist Party will not focus on them, so they leave as soon as they want. They are the kind of people who have never drunk tea. If they are really old tea drinkers Those who are still under restrictions cannot leave the country, so they find ways to sneak across,” he said.
Mr. Wei, who just came to the United States last year, told The Epoch Times that it was just a coincidence that he encountered no obstacles when passing through customs. “Personally, it was very smooth. The customs staff knew that I was traveling on a motorcycle in China, so they took it with me.” He took my cell phone and looked through my photo album. I happened to take a lot of pictures along the way, so he believed it and let me go. “
But a friend who wanted to go through the line was stopped. Later, the friend told Mr. Wei that as soon as he showed his passport at the customs, the customs officers took him directly to a small dark room and asked him directly Is he familiar with Ecuador?
“Before he arrived at the port, the customs officers already knew where he was going and were waiting for him there. Where did they get the information? The customs said it was from WeChat chat records and his recent frequent searches. Air ticket information, these actions betrayed him.” Mr. Wei said.
Later, Mr. Wei also learned about the situation of leaving the customs from other friends. They reported that it was difficult, or they were interrogated for a long time, such as 15 minutes, half an hour, and some were even taken to a small dark room for interrogation for an hour. . Some have to unpack and undergo inspection, and the purpose of each item must be explained. If you think you may have the idea of escape, you will not be allowed to leave.
“I learned from many people that many barriers in the country are currently being tightened,” he said.
Li Beixing, who traveled to the United States last year, told The Epoch Times, “The cross-examinations all had different questions. For example, when they were directed at me, they asked me to dig out everything in my bag, and then they had to take out all the communication records on my mobile phone. At least After more than two hours of cross-examination, they asked every question they could think of.”
Lawyer Liang Shaohua, the former chief compliance officer of a mainland asset management company, told The Epoch Times, “What I know is that people who leave the country are asking questions about this and that. What are you going to do, for how long, and why? I don’t know. Not everyone asks, I’ve met several people who have been asked.”
He said that it is definitely difficult to get a passport now. Before, everyone in mainland China could apply for a passport, but that seems to be no longer the case. Applying for a passport does not mean that everyone can apply for it, and just because you have a passport does not mean that you can renew it.
“It’s not like this just recently. It’s been like this for the past two years. Recently, someone I know said that they won’t renew their passports. They didn’t say they wouldn’t renew them. They just asked why you are renewing your passports if you don’t go out now? Change it.”
Liang Shaohua said that if you say you want to go abroad, you may ask more detailed questions about where you are going, etc. Anyway, you did not need to ask before. You can just renew your passport when it expires. Now, you will not be asked.
“It will definitely be tightened, just to prevent everyone from coming out. The CCP has always been like this. It will not expressly prohibit it or issue such documents, but when you actually do it, there are various obstacles, just like North Korea, which does not allow everyone to come out. Ran.”
Lianjiang County cracks down on “wire routing”
Recently, a picture was uploaded on social media showing that Lianjiang County in Fujian Province is preparing to focus on cracking down on the “trafficking” behavior. It reads, “Lianjiang County’s crackdown on wire-traveling and smuggling to the United States and the deployment meeting for the control of key personnel involved in fraud.”
(Network screenshot)
The Epoch Times interviewed Mr. Wu from Fujian Province. Mr. Wu told The Epoch Times that Lian Jiang’s incident was true. “If you are caught there, you will be fined, especially for the snakeheads, who will be completely bankrupt.”
Mr. Wu said that this area of Lianjiang County is the hometown of overseas Chinese and has a tradition of smuggling out of the country. Over the years, many people have smuggled out of the country. In the years from 2009 to 2011, we focused on catching smugglers who smuggled people into the country, and many of them were caught. From 2013 to 2019, there were fewer illegal immigrants. But three years after the epidemic was banned, a large number of people began to flee again, and many people smuggled across the border.
He said that there are relatively few people smuggling across the city of Fuzhou, mainly in the Lianjiang, Guantou, Langqi, and Changle areas, near the mouth of the Minjiang River and near the sea. Many people smuggle in. In the 1990s, they all went to Japan. Now they all go to the United States. They all go to the United States.
“Why do we need to renovate? They are all gone, there is no one here anymore, and the international influence is very bad!” Mr. Wu said.
Mr. Li of Lianjiang told The Epoch Times that Lianjiang’s crackdown on wiring is true, and it has been particularly strict recently. It is because the Communist Party of China is afraid of losing face, so the higher-ups are suppressing them, and now they are trying to punish them.
“Everything is under control and it is difficult to travel freely. The reason is that it is very chaotic outside, especially in the surrounding countries. There are scammers and people who cut their waists. It is said that teachers will now hand in all their passports.”
Mr. Li said, “Especially in Lianjiang County, which is considered a key area. There are two to three thousand people in one township who go out, and hundreds of people go out in our village. Other places will be better, but it is not so easy to go out now.”
He said that almost all the young people in every village have left. Originally, the young people here used to make game consoles. After Xi came to power, they were all shut down, so there was no big source of income. In the past few years, the economy has been affected by the epidemic again. My child is broken, so I want to go to a free country.
Outbound travel is restricted, but the number of people traveling overseas is still rising
The current mentality of Chinese people is described by four words: volume, leek, lie down, and moisturize. Under the dual pressure of economy and politics, the people either have no choice but to become leeks harvested by others in the inner struggle, or they refuse to be leeks. The passive people choose to lie down, while the active people choose to “moisten” and run away from the country.
For the middle class whose career, family and social relations are all rooted in mainland China, unless they are extremely lack of confidence in domestic prospects, intolerable, and consider practical interests, they will not easily leave China and go to a country where everything from language to living habits is different. A place to start over.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics, the number of Chinese citizens illegally crossing the border from northern Mexico into the United States surged to more than 24,000 in fiscal year 2023 (October 1, 2022 – September 30, 2023); 2024 In the first three months of the fiscal year (October, November, and December 2023), the number of Chinese citizens illegally crossing the border continued to increase, reaching 4,261, 4,797, and 5,980 respectively.
(Network screenshot)
Among those recently interviewed by CBS are teachers, bankers, small business owners and factory workers. Some people, who are middle-class and well-dressed, flew all the way to Mexico and arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border with trolley suitcases.
CBS reported that many Chinese immigrants said they were leaving China to escape China’s increasingly repressive political climate and sluggish economy. One woman said it wasn’t just financial reasons that motivated her, but “freedom.”
Mr. Lu told The Epoch Times that the CCP is of course unwilling to see an increase in the number of people traveling abroad, and there are still many constraints that prevent it from immediately closing the country. If the door is not closed immediately, it will be very difficult to prevent these people from leaving the country. For example, asking people to leave the country one by one and creating various obstacles will actually be costly and difficult.
“It’s not that it doesn’t want to take care of it, but it means that the CCP is currently in a dilemma. It can’t control these people who should leave. It’s not at the stage where it will finally act cruelly. It can’t control it now.”
Since CCP leader Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, the CCP has expanded the scope of laws restricting travel abroad, and has even restricted the travel of Chinese and foreigners without legal basis.
The human rights group Safeguard Defenders released a report in May last year saying that China (the Chinese Communist Party) was preventing more and more people from leaving the country. Since 2018, Beijing has passed five new or revised laws expanding its ability to impose so-called exit restrictions. Currently, the total number of laws restricting exit from abroad has reached 15.
The report also said that between 2016 and 2020, the number of cases mentioning exit bans in the legal database of the Supreme Court of China increased eightfold.
As the authorities continue to strengthen so-called “national security” controls, relevant restrictions on state-owned enterprises and civil servants have been expanded since 2021, including bans on overseas travel, restrictions on travel frequency and overseas stay time, cumbersome approval processes, and confidential training and education before departure. , the relevant measures have nothing to do with the epidemic.
“Exit restrictions have become one of the many tools used by the Chinese Communist Party to tighten its control over all aspects of people’s lives,” the report added.
Editor in charge: Lin Yan#
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2024-02-13 04:24:10
