China issues travel advisory to citizens visiting the US, warning of ‘unwarranted interrogations and harassment’
- Beijing urges citizens to prepare for ‘unexpected situations’ after Chinese students and workers are questioned and deported from American airports
- Chinese foreign ministry says it has lodged formal protest with Washington over the situation
Their phones, computers and other luggage items were searched piece by piece, and several people were banned from entering the country, it said.
“The ministry and the Chinese embassy and consulates in the US have lodged a solemn representation to the US, and we remind those who plan to travel to the US to be aware of these situations,” it said, advising Chinese nationals in need of help to contact their embassy or consulate.
In January, China Science Daily, a newspaper affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, reported that a biological sciences PhD candidate was deported by officials at Dulles airport in December as she was trying to return to the US to continue her studies.
The report said the student was subjected to a body search and spent eight hours in an interrogation room followed by 12 hours in solitary confinement.