U.S. State Department Warns Against Travel to China and Macau

The U.S. State Department on Friday issued three updates to its travel advisory list for China, Macau, and Hong Kong.

The advisories, which can be read in full via the State Department’s website, all have to do with new wrongful detention language and information and the limited ability of the U.S. to provide emergency consular services in those destinations.

For Mainland China and Macau, the State Department is advising Americans to reconsider their travel, in particular, due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including about exit bans, and the risk of wrongful detentions.”  

“Reconsider travel due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans, and the risk of wrongful detentions,” the advisory for Mainland China reads. “The People’s Republic of China (PRC) government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including issuing exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law.

“U.S. citizens traveling or residing in the PRC may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime. U.S. citizens in the PRC may be subjected to interrogations and detention without fair and transparent treatment under the law,” the advisory continues.

For Hong Kong, the State Department is advising Americans to “Exercise Increased Caution,” also due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws. That is the same level (Level 2) warning that countries like France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and more have.

The update is one of a string that the State Department has made recently. Earlier this week, it updated its advisories for 14 countries, including India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and more. Also recently, the Department reissued travel advisories to four other destinations