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China Issues US Travel Alert Warning of Official Harassment

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  buzz-of-the-orient  •  5 years ago  •  21 comments

China Issues US Travel Alert Warning of Official Harassment

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



China Issues US Travel Alert Warning of Official Harassment

China has issued a travel warning for the U.S. saying Chinese visitors have been interrogated, interviewed and subjected to other forms of what it called harassment by U.S. law enforcement agencies.

By Associated Press, Wire Service Content (Reported by USnews and World Report), June 4, 2019

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FILE - In this Friday, June 15, 2012, file photo, a group of tourists from China take in the sights of the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall National Memorial. Major hotel brands are bending over backward to cater to the needs of the world's most sought-after traveler: the Chinese tourist. China has issued a travel warning for the U.S. saying Chinese visitors have been interrogated, interviewed and subjected to other forms of what it called harassment by U.S. law enforcement agencies. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEIJING (AP) — CHINA issued a travel warning for the U.S. on Tuesday, saying Chinese visitors have been interrogated, interviewed and subjected to other forms of what it called harassment by U.S. law enforcement agencies.

The warning urges Chinese citizens and Chinese-funded bodies in the U.S. to step up their safety awareness and preventative measures and respond "appropriately and actively." It was issued by the foreign ministry, as well as the Chinese Embassy and consulates in the U.S.

The warning comes amid an increasingly bitter trade dispute between Beijing and Washington and tougher immigration enforcement by the Trump administration.

China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued its own travel alert for the U.S. on Tuesday, noting the high frequency of shootings, robberies and theft in the country. Chinese students abroad were urged on Monday to assess the risks involved given tightened visa restrictions.

The alerts are valid until Dec. 31.

Commenting on the warning issued to students, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the U.S. side had to be aware of the obstacles and impact they have created.

"For some time, the U.S. has politicized normal China-U.S. educational exchanges using the China threat and Chinese infiltration as excuses," Geng said at a daily briefing.

Chinese social media has been abuzz with talk of U.S. visa and green card denials and other travel, education and employment woes under Trump, who has sought to restrict the numbers of foreign visitors and others coming to the U.S. for what he claims are security and economic reasons.

One who did receive a visa, although not without a lengthy wait, was Cao Yue, a senior student majoring in aeronautics at Beijing-based Beihang University.

After being admitted to the master's program in mechanical engineering and robotics at Columbia University, she applied for a visa at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and was told it would take weeks to process.

Cao said she was asked questions about her parents' profession and what specific types of robots she planned to work on.

"I was expecting (to wait). I knew what was going to happen. This major involves a sensitive field," said Cao, who received her visa after about six weeks.

Partly as a result of additional visa checks, Chinese travel to the U.S. is falling after more than a decade of rapid growth, leaving cities, malls and other tourist spots scrambling to reverse the trend.

Travel from China to the U.S. fell 5.7% in 2018 to 2.9 million visitors, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office, which collects data from U.S. Customs forms. It was the first time since 2003 that Chinese travel to the U.S. slipped from the prior year.

China also issued a travel warning for the U.S. last summer, telling its citizens to beware of shootings, robberies and high costs for medical care. The U.S. shot back with its own warning about travel to China.


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Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
1  seeder  Buzz of the Orient    5 years ago

Chasing away "the world's most sought-after traveler: the Chinese tourist" - just another blow to the US people, this time the tourism economy. Trump's policies have now succeeded in creating a xenophobia and disparaging of the Chinese people, and I don't blame China one bit for warning its citizens from travelling in a country where people are known to use their guns to express themselves.

Time for Canada to step up its tourism promotion in China:

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
1.1  JBB  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @1    5 years ago

The Trump administration is doing everything they can to make America' reputation butt ugly. Ibet you have heard of the proverbial Ugly American? Well, Trump is turning America's once bad reputation up by a factor of + ten fold... 

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
1.1.1  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  JBB @1.1    5 years ago

I knew the expression "The Ugly American" back in the late 1950s when I was travelling in Europe and north Africa, when American backpackers sewed Canadian flags on their backpacks so they would not be mistaken for Americans.  But after that, for a long time, that wasn't really the case. It's unfortunate if it's happening again, isn't it.

 
 
 
pat wilson
Professor Participates
2  pat wilson    5 years ago

What makes the Chinese tourist the world's most sought-after traveler ?

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
2.1  JBB  replied to  pat wilson @2    5 years ago

There are lots of them? My experience is Chinese tourists are RUDE RUDE RUDE.

Puhing, grabbing and shoving others out of your way must be normal in China...

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
2.1.1  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  JBB @2.1    5 years ago

Maybe it's because of how they are treated, and where you have seen them, if that's YOUR experience.  I've probably been in a lot more contact with them than you've been.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
2.1.2  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @2.1.1    5 years ago

I'm going to add a correction to what I just wrote, because I intend to be accurate about it.  When I was living in Zhengzhou, where the people are not as sophisticated and many local farmers frequent the city, I have been in a lineup to buy tickets and a man who was obviously a farmer pushed his way in front of the line.  He was obviously not a person who would be a tourist elsewhere.  The second and last such incident in the almost 13 years I have been here a man who was better off tried to push his authority and did the same thing, demanding that he be served first. Normally people here are extremely patient, even docile, when in a line for service such as in a bank.  I would be willing to bet that in western countries one would find similar incidents, perhaps even more of them.

 
 
 
FLYNAVY1
Professor Guide
2.1.3  FLYNAVY1  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @2.1.2    5 years ago

I would concur with you Buzz.  In the seven months I worked between Suzhou and Shanghai last year, I found most everyone was quite courteous.  My feeble efforts to communicate with people in Manderin was greatly appreciated, and they were excited that I made the effort to try.

The only issue I ever had was at the airport being regularly asked to meet with the duty officer for the same series of questions.  Why are you here, where are you staying, what is the company you work for?  That was to be expected given my past history.

Hope you're well. 

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
2.1.4  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  FLYNAVY1 @2.1.3    5 years ago

I'm okay, thanks. Hope you're well too.  I've never had to undergo that kind of interrogation.  But I, too, have had the experience of always eliciting a big smile when I speak my minimal Mandarin to anyone - just simple things like wishing them a happy new year, or even just saying hello, goodbye and thank you.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
2.2  Kavika   replied to  pat wilson @2    5 years ago
What makes the Chinese tourist the world's most sought-after traveler?

They are big spenders on foreign travel.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
2.3  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  pat wilson @2    5 years ago

As you can see, that is a quotation from the seed - not my words but I can guess why.  Maybe it's because they spend a lot of money while touring, and because I've come to know the Chinese people over almost 13 years of living among them I believe that they could be the most polite, considerate and quietest tourists. 

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
2.3.1  Kavika   replied to  Buzz of the Orient @2.3    5 years ago

In 2017 a China dispute with South Korea resulted in China cutting back it's tourism to SK and it brought SK to it's knees. This is not the first time that China has used tourism, or lack of tourism, as a weapon in a fight. 

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
2.3.2  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Kavika @2.3.1    5 years ago

A fight they didn't start.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
2.3.3  Kavika   replied to  Buzz of the Orient @2.3.2    5 years ago

The dispute was the placement of THADD missiles in South Korea...China was adamantly opposed to their placement. Beside the tourism China basically shut down a huge project being built by the Lotte Group of South Korea in China...Lotte had already invested a billion dollars on the project. 

I read where Lotte is now starting to work on it again.  

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
2.3.4  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Kavika @2.3.3    5 years ago
"China was adamantly opposed to their placement"

Similarly, I guess the USA wasn't happy about the Russians putting missiles in Cuba.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
4  Kavika     5 years ago
Similarly, I guess the USA wasn't happy about the Russians putting missiles in Cuba.

Exactly but there is one difference. The Russian missiles in Cuba did not have a buffer (NK) as a excuse. Here the excuse for the missiles is NK. 

IMO, China is only broadening it's power and prestige in Asia and challenging the U.S. projected power in Asia. It was bound to happen as China gained more and more power both military and financially. 

The islands in the South China Sea were built and there is little that we could do about it. Eventually Taiwan will become a flash point between the US and China....That's when the rubber will hit the road. China has never ruled out taking Taiwan by force.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
4.1  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Kavika @4    5 years ago

Reasonable opinions.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
5  Kavika     5 years ago

Las Vegas and Chinese tourists is a big deal and lately Vegas is feeling the affects of the drop in Chinese tourists. 

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
5.1  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Kavika @5    5 years ago

I saw on the news that the American universities are starting to feel the pinch - one has even purchased an insurance polity with a $24,000 annual premium to cover the expected drop in tuition.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
5.1.1  Kavika   replied to  Buzz of the Orient @5.1    5 years ago

This is an interesting article.

But things are changing, and American colleges and universities may not be able to count on international students serving as cash cows.

Since 2015, international student enrollment in the United States has fallen by 40 percent. One of the largest falloffs involves students from China, whose numbers have plunged from 279,000 to   116,000 .

The decline can't be attributed to a global trend. Consider Canada. Fewer international students study there than in the US, but international enrollment in Canadian universities has been increasing — by a whopping   44 percent . What's more, the number of Chinese students in Canada   increased by 26 percent   at the same time that they were falling in the US.

Rising tuition   surely helps to explain part of this big drop off , but the Trump administration's harsh foreign policy rhetoric has made matters worse.

The president's labeling of Chinese students as " spies " and talk of   reducing the number of educational visas issued to Chinese citizens   has made the United States appear less welcoming. Ditto Trump's continual bashing of other countries, including long-time friends and allies. 

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
5.1.2  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Kavika @5.1.1    5 years ago

Well, looks like at least some of Trump's policies DO benefit Canada, even though they may harm his own country.

 
 

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