May 17, 2022
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Recently, there have been online rumors that China has suspended the issuance of passports, and has also banned citizens from leaving the country for cutting corners of green cards, which has caused widespread concern. However, the Chinese authorities responded that these rumors are false news, but China is still implementing strict and strict immigration policies.
A political scientist told BBC Chinese that the current immigration management policy is determined by China’s “zero” epidemic prevention policy, and China will not change this policy in the short term.
Entry and Exit Blocked and Official Response
Recently, many netizens said that they encountered obstacles when leaving China.
A netizen said that he went to Canada with a student visa to study at a university, but when he left the country, he was asked by the border inspector what he was going to do in Canada, and also asked if there were offline courses in Canada. When he answered no, the border inspector directly cut his passport.
There are also screenshots of WeChat chats circulating on Twitter saying that when someone leaves the country with a green card in Guangzhou, the green card is cut.
Twitter netizen “Du Ruitang” commented: “China has locked down the country, and even international students are not allowed to go abroad to study, so they have to cut their passports.”
In response to these rumors, the National Immigration Administration of China stated on May 13 that “suspending passports” and “prohibiting exit from the country by cutting corners of green cards” are all fake news, “distorting and smearing my entry and exit management policies, intending to interfere with normalized epidemic prevention and control. Legal, precise and effective entry and exit management measures under the conditions.”
The spokesperson of the National Immigration Administration of China also said that at present, the global epidemic is far from over, the development of the epidemic is still very uncertain, and the risk of infection when going abroad is still relatively high. Leave the country urgently, ensure personal health and safety, and jointly safeguard the hard-won major strategic achievements in epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic.”
In addition, the Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou Entry-Exit Frontier Inspection Stations also issued a statement to refute rumors, saying that the information on the Internet such as passports, green cards being cut, and passports being taken away are all rumors.
The BBC might not verify claims such as cutting passports and green cards, but China has indeed tightened its entry and exit policies in recent years.
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The “non-essential” departure battle
According to May 10Party group meeting held by the National Immigration Administration of ChinaIt pointed out: “Strictly implement strict and strict entry and exit policies, strictly restrict non-essential exit activities of Chinese citizens, and strictly approve and issue entry and exit documents.” The official WeChat account of the Immigration Bureau stated.
When China’s National Immigration Administration replied to readers below the WeChat article, it clarified what constituted “necessary” reasons.
“For those who go abroad to resume work, production, and school, as well as necessary activities such as economics and trade, scientific research, and schooling, as well as those who have urgent humanitarian reasons such as seeking medical treatment and caring for critically ill patients, timely accept and approve passports and documents, go through the procedures for going abroad, and minimize the impact on normal production. , study, life and the impact of necessary personnel exchanges. Provide expedited certificate and customs clearance facilities for personnel and vehicles going abroad to participate in epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic, transportation of disaster relief materials and fresh agricultural products, and effectively ensure the security and stability of supply chains and industrial chains. ” The National Immigration Administration of China responded.
Radio Free Asia, headquartered in the United States, quoted the staff of the National Immigration Administration’s consultation hotline as saying that “non-essential” reasons include travel and family visits, and border inspectors will dissuade them; “essential” mainly include studying abroad, employment, business, or It is for reasons such as going abroad for medical treatment, participating in epidemic prevention and fighting, and transporting disaster relief materials. Beijing border inspection staff also said that for “necessary reasons” to leave the country, the reasons and supporting documents should be strictly checked, and the implementation on the spot should be taken as a priority.
The Chinese authorities’ restrictions on outbound travel can be traced back to November 2020, when the National Immigration Administration stated that it would strictly examine and approve Chinese citizens’ applications for entry and exit documents for non-essential reasons such as travel, and discourage and restrict mainland residents from traveling, visiting relatives, friends and other non-essential travelers. Essential and non-urgent need for entry and exit activities.
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The definition of non-essential travel has always been a controversial topic.
Epidemic Prevention Effectiveness and the “20th National Congress”
Chen Daoyin, a Chinese political scientist, believes that China’s recent stricter entry-exit management policies are aimed at “foreign import prevention”, especially for short-term travelers, because these travelers have to return to China following leaving the country, posing risks to epidemic prevention and control.
“You go out for a walk outside, and then come back in half a month. If you bring the epidemic in, will the domestic epidemic worsen once more?” he said.
He also pointed out that such a policy must be related to the “Twenty Congress”.
“If the foreign defense import cannot be controlled and the domestic epidemic cannot be controlled, it will inevitably impact Xi Jinping’s dynamic anti-epidemic decision, which will inevitably affect the legitimacy of his re-election to the 20th National Congress, or his political achievements.”
Chen Cheng, a professor of political science at the State University of New York at Albany, also told the BBC that strict control of entry and exit is an important part of the zero-clearing policy. At present, it seems that before the 20th National Congress, the Chinese government is unlikely to adjust the zero policy.
She believes that there are political and practical reasons for it. “Politically, over the past two years, the CCP has regarded the reset as a major achievement, believing that the reset reflects the superiority of the Chinese system under the leadership of Xi Jinping. The 20th National Congress is an important meeting where the outside world unanimously expects Xi Jinping to be re-elected as the top leader. “Before that, if the epidemic is out of control, it will undoubtedly be an embarrassing situation for Xi himself and the Chinese government, and it will definitely be vigorously criticized by “hostile forces” at home and abroad.”
In terms of reality, Chen Cheng pointed out that although some people are quite critical of the reset policy, there are still many regions and people who have not been significantly affected by the epidemic support the reset policy. “In addition, China’s vaccination rate, especially the vaccination rate of the elderly population, is still unsatisfactory. Coupled with the differences in medical conditions between urban and rural areas, and regional differences, if it is released immediately, there will inevitably be a medical run, and a large number of elderly people will become seriously ill and even die. This will undoubtedly have a certain impact on the regime.”
Chen Daoyin predicted that China’s zero-clearing policy may last for three to five years. The current restrictions cannot reach the level of “locking the country”, but the movement of people has been strictly restricted.
Chen Cheng believes that although the reset will definitely have a negative impact on the economy and society, and it may be difficult to make major adjustments before the 20th National Congress, this does not mean that China will be “locked to the country” for a long time.
“In addition to the negative economic and social impact, the chaos in Shanghai this time has also dealt a major blow to the CCP’s reputation internationally. It is unrealistic to have endless resets. This wave of epidemic control should also buy time to increase the vaccination rate. Increase The vaccination rate is expected to be the next focus. Under this premise, there is no possibility of policy adjustment following the 20th National Congress. “
