Beijing accuses US of holding Chinese students in ‘small, dark rooms’ for over 70 hours
Foreign ministry hits out at ‘discriminatory and politically motivated’ treatment of Chinese nationals arriving at the border
Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, said on Friday that these actions “seriously infringed upon the legitimate and legal rights and interests of Chinese citizens, severely obstructed normal personnel exchanges between the two countries, and seriously undermined the atmosphere for people-to-people and cultural exchanges”.
She told a scheduled press conference: “Recently, the US has frequently engaged in discriminatory, politically motivated and selective law enforcement against Chinese students travelling to the US.
“These students are subjected to unfair treatment, including being taken into small, dark rooms for repeated and prolonged interrogations,” she said, speaking colloquially about the interrogation facilities.
“Some have been detained for over 70 hours and questioned about topics completely unrelated to their purpose for travelling to the US. In some cases, their visas are cancelled and they are denied entry, citing so-called national security concerns.”
Mao said China had lodged immediate representations after each incident and urged Washington to “thoroughly investigate and correct its mistakes”.