WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee Chair Young Kim (CA-40) sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging the State Department to raise its travel advisory for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from Level 2 (“Exercise Increased Caution”) to Level 3 (“Reconsider Travel”) in light of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ongoing wrongful detention of American citizens.
On October 19, the State Department updated its China travel advisory to warn that Americans face a serious risk of wrongful detention, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, surveillance, and illegitimate exit bans without due process. However, the advisory remains at Level 2 – the same category as allies like Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom, where risks stem from isolated non-state threats. In China, the threat to Americans comes from the state apparatus itself, making the risk constant and countrywide.
“The United States cannot and will not tolerate a hostile foreign power treating Americans, including Mr. Min Zin and Dr. Youlin Chen, who are currently detained, like pawns to be traded,” said Rep. Young Kim. “The Chinese Communist Party continues to use hostage diplomacy as leverage against our country, and Americans considering travel to China deserve a clear, honest assessment of the risks they face. Raising the advisory to Level 3 would deliver exactly that.”
Chairwoman Kim also urged that specific cases of detained Americans, like Mr. Min Zin and Dr. Youlin Chen, be listed on the State Department’s China travel advisory webpage as a warning to Americans.
This letter builds on Chairwoman Kim’s Subcommittee hearing, “Lives Not Leverage: The Long Arm of China and North Korea’s Repression,” where she pressed for answers on whether the State Department should raise China’s travel advisory.
Watch the exchange HERE.
Read the letter HERE.
