China warns Washington it may detain Americans in response to military scholar prosecutions
- The Justice Department said the FBI had arrested three Chinese nationals for allegedly concealing memberships in the People’s Liberation Army
- Last month, the United States said it had revoked visas for more than 1,000 Chinese nationals under a presidential measure
The Chinese government has warned Washington it may detain Americans in China in response to the Justice Department’s prosecution of Chinese military-affiliated scholars, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
The newspaper, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, said Chinese officials had issued repeated warnings through multiple channels to US government officials.
The newspaper said China’s message was the United States should end prosecutions of Chinese scholars in US courts, or Americans in China could find themselves in violation of Chinese law.
The White House referred questions to the State Department, which did not immediately comment. The Justice Department also did not immediately respond to a query from Reuters.
A State Department advisory on September 14 warning against travel to China said the Chinese government uses arbitrary detention of US citizens and others “to gain bargaining leverage over foreign governments.”
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.