The Chinese Communist Party’s control over citizens leaving the country is extending from border checkpoints to local police stations. In recent times, several overseas employees have reported being asked to provide various documents such as overseas employment records, insurance papers, photographs, and addresses during their return to China. Non-compliance may affect their ability to leave the country again. Additionally, even university students with valid documents and tickets have been stopped at the border.
On August 24th, a netizen in Singapore revealed that their Chinese colleague, who was on a business trip back to China, was required by the local police station to provide seven additional documents. The original poster wrote, “My colleague returned to China on a business trip today and was asked by the local police station for the following documents: 1. Passport; 2. Overseas employment proof; 3. Medical insurance proof; 4. Work photos; 5. Company storefront photos; 6. Landmark group photos; 7. Specific residential address. Otherwise, it would affect departure, looking confused.”
There have been reports of communities or police stations contacting the parents of individuals living abroad, urging them to compel their family members to submit required information.
Mr. Liu from Liaoning told Epoch Times that after purchasing a ticket from Beijing to Los Angeles online on August 25th, he received a call from the local police station the next day. He said, “The officer asked me about the purpose of going to the United States, and I said for a visit. He asked me to fill out a form with name, destination, flight number, name and occupation of the person visiting, and whether the house is owned or rented. I found it strange, why do they need my relative’s information?”
Mr. Liu mentioned that during his previous trips to the U.S. two years ago, he didn’t encounter such situations. He expressed his surprise at the authorities being more interested in his relative’s identity and housing this time.
A mainland scholar named Yin Dan stated that under the guise of combating telecommunications fraud, the Chinese Communist Party is now including normal outbound travelers and overseas employees in local investigations, collecting data beyond what is necessary to verify work identities. He added, “I’ve heard from friends in China that after returning to the country, the police checked everything from the company storefront photos in the U.S. to landmark group photos and specific addresses. This may be the CCP’s attempt to create a map of the distribution of Chinese people on the U.S. map through big data, piecing together the activities of individuals abroad.”
A female netizen from Guangdong shared that she had been asked to register similarly in the comments section before. She stated, “You have to provide the information, otherwise, it will really affect your departure. I was asked to do this before, but I was busy and kept forgetting. Later, I wanted to go to Hong Kong, but my pass could not be operated on the self-service machine; it needed manual processing. It happened to be a holiday when I was leaving, and no one was working, causing a delay in my trip. So, for fear of being stuck during overseas business trips in the future, I immediately submitted the required documents.”
Retired civil servant Mr. Feng from Shanghai told reporters that since early August, many residents in his neighborhood had been asked to fill out forms by the grid workers before traveling abroad. He said, “If you’re not traveling with a group, you have to fill out a form. They also verbally advise you, it’s better not to go to Japan, claiming poor security there; also to try to avoid going to the U.S. I asked them, are you suggesting we go to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, or Myanmar instead? Are we going to have our kidneys harvested there? Grid worker Xiao Li said, no, the registration before going abroad is for security purposes. I retorted, now there’s no safe place in China, Western countries are safer.”
In mid-August, screenshots circulating online showed two university students who had already purchased tickets and were preparing to travel abroad but were detained at the border. The reason given by authorities was quoted as “they are university students, which is not safe.” The screenshots did not provide the name of the airport where the incident occurred, the destination, or the final outcome.
On August 16, a video circulated online showing a female university student being intercepted at Nanning Airport in Guangxi. The student narrated that on the 15th while exiting through the self-service channel, the machine displayed a red light, and she was then taken to a room where her phone, chat records, bank statements, return ticket, hotel reservations, and luggage were inspected. She mentioned that border officials restricted about 60,000 students from her university from leaving the country, citing some students being stranded in Spain as the reason. The video also showed her being taken to a “small dark room” and her documents being canceled.
The Chinese State Council announced regulations regarding entry and exit management on July 22, to be implemented from September 15. The new regulations do not explicitly state that overseas employees must submit the aforementioned information to the local police station upon returning, nor do they mandate restricting the entire student body from traveling abroad due to specific students being stranded overseas.
Commentator Yin Dan stated that under the pretext of combating fraud, the Chinese public security system has extended its grid control over domestic individuals to overseas Chinese nationals. Even when leaving China, the authorities can monitor their whereabouts. He commented, “When you use the UnionPay system for shopping, withdrawals, or transactions, all the data is incorporated into big data. As soon as they find your name, officials know where you are. The day you return to China, they will test you with some information they already possess, and if you lie to them, they won’t let you leave, ultimately aiming to control you.”