Beijing authorities have stirred up a backlash on the internet by introducing new regulations on entering and exiting the country, which are widely seen as the strictest and most opaque in the history of China’s outbound management, turning the previously gray area of “border control” into a legally sanctioned measure.
Critics from outside have condemned this as a move towards “closing off the country.” Observers have described it as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) not only imprisoning the thoughts and speech of the Chinese people but now also shackling their feet from going abroad.
On July 31, the CCP announced the “Regulations on Entry and Exit Administration by the State Council”, which will come into effect on September 15.
In 2007, the CCP implemented the “Passport Law”, and in July 2013, authorities began enforcing the “Exit and Entry Administration Law”. The new regulations to be implemented in September this year increase restrictions and border controls on entry and exit, which are very broad.
The new regulations consist of 19 articles, with the main controversy lying in: clear provisions targeting citizens who “may harm national industrial security and technological security”, allowing the State Council’s Ministry of Commerce and other departments to directly decide on prohibiting exit; requiring more documents and electronic data for passport applications and exits, and cooperating to verify “true intentions”, shifting from a simple document verification to motive verification; discouraging or preventing citizens from traveling to so-called “high-risk countries or regions”; authorities can withhold reasons from individuals in cases involving national security; strengthening penalties for overseas actions (such as endangering national security) upon return to China (ranging from 6 months to 3 years), and more.
Article 4 stipulates that “Chinese citizens who violate export controls, technology import and export management regulations, which may harm national industrial security, technological security, the State Council’s Ministry of Commerce, and other relevant departments can decide to prohibit them from leaving the country.”
This targeting of industrial and technological security immediately brings to mind the CCP’s scrutiny of Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of the Chinese artificial intelligence startup, Manus, in March this year, and the subsequent ban on the departure of Manus’s two co-founders. The use of “may harm” in the new regulations has been criticized by netizens as having a vague definition.
Su Ziyun, director of the Institute of National Defense Strategy and Resources at the Taiwan Institute for National Defense and Security Studies, told Epoch Times that these new regulations are about strengthening political control disguised under the guise of technology.
However, he believes that the vagueness is not the main issue; the key problem is that the CCP itself does not have an independent judicial system.
Su Ziyun said that when it comes to national security, democratic countries require court approval, independent judiciary, media supervision, and parliamentary oversight before detaining people, so the border control clauses of a general democratic country are less likely to be abused. In mainland China, regulations are vague, responsibility is vague, and there is no independent judicial system to make judgments; anyone may be subject to groundless accusations.
Chen Wenjia, a Taiwanese national security strategist and vice president of Kang-Nam University, believes that the new regulations from the CCP not only control individuals but also increase uncertainty, making people reluctant to easily engage with foreign events. What the CCP truly fears is not individual incidents but uncontrollability, including the flow of people, technology, and resources.
Chen Wenjia stated that following the CCP’s introduction of outbound restrictions related to technological security, normal overseas exchanges or job changes for individuals may be reinterpreted and cause industry professionals to become overly cautious, leading to a cooling of international cooperation. “This is not just a legal issue but a talent control mechanism in the context of a technological warfare, managing people as strategic resources.”
Jie Lijian, chairman of the China Democratic Party International Alliance, told Epoch Times that the CCP’s introduction of these new regulations is partly due to the fact that in recent years, many Chinese citizens who have traveled abroad have seen developed countries like the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe and compared them to China, making a clear judgment between the systems of freedom and dictatorship, which worries the Communist Party greatly.
Furthermore, Jie Lijian stated that the CCP’s new regulations are also a product of state-to-state strategic competition. For example, in the case of tensions between the CCP and Japan, the original advice was not to travel there; now, it can straightforwardly state that your visit will harm national security, thus preventing you from going.
Chinese human rights lawyer You Feiyu also pointed out that these new regulations, along with previous CCP regulations such as the “Counter-Espionage Law”, “National Unity Law”, “Hong Kong National Security Law”, all serve the same purpose of preventing the movement of individuals to learn the truth and fearing internal risks.
Jie Lijian said, now even county governments have the power to shackle your feet, preventing you from leaving China’s door. These new regulations are bound to become a new means for officials at all levels of the CCP to enrich themselves. “For example, if you want to leave the country, you need some resources, funds for public relations, the exit and entry management center, the issuing authority, or even the political and judicial committee can all profit.”
The new regulations emphasize the supervision of intermediary service agencies and personnel.
Jie Lijian stated that immigration intermediaries are under pressure from authorities, and they will take the initiative to strengthen their review for the CCP.
He explained that what the CCP perceives as unstable factors, intermediaries will further screen in advance to prevent so-called dangerous individuals from going out. Originally, the intermediaries were thinking about how to make money, but now the CCP’s political commands take top priority. Otherwise, intermediaries will have their licenses revoked, be fined, so they will try to hold people back as much as possible; in the end, they can say that it was the government reviewing your information background, and you cannot leave the country, shifting the responsibility to the CCP government.
“You pay the money, the fees are non-refundable, they arbitrarily give you a reason to block you. They deceive you out of money, complete the (political) mission, and the unluckiest thing is that you’ve spent money, your feet are shackled, and you can’t leave the country,” he added.
In addition to sparking a wave of backlash on overseas social media platforms, the CCP’s new regulations have also elicited subtle expressions of doubt from some mainland Chinese netizens on heavily censored microblogs:
“Mainly tightening control on its own citizens going abroad.”
“Why is it mostly about not allowing exits, with very few regulations on not allowing entry for foreigners?”
“Will the new Chinese entry and exit regulations in September cause a frenzy of outgoing trips? Will Chinese citizens holding foreign green cards be affected by the new regulations? Will it coerce green card holders to seek foreign citizenship?”
“I had a premonition a while ago, things will become more… until… those with conditions and opportunities should act quickly.”
“Is it worth writing anything at all? Better not, talk yourself out of it.”
A Chinese netizen who indicated being in the US mentioned: “Suddenly feel that the decision to travel abroad this summer vacation was extremely correct.”
Throughout history, the CCP’s infamous control over the thoughts and speech of the Chinese people is well-known. Jie Lijian said that now, as the CCP moves towards isolationism, “previously it was about restricting your thoughts, silencing your voice, and now it’s about directly restricting your feet.”
You Feiyu stated that the CCP’s policies in the future may become even more repressive, returning to the oppressive system reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution era, leading society towards a more terrifying state.