Chinese Embassy lashes out at U.S. over harassing Chinese citizens at border

The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. lashed out at the U.S. for overstretching the scope of normal law enforcement after a number of Chinese citizens have been subject to hours of interrogation in a "small black room" when entering or leaving the U.S.

Quoting data, a spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. said in a statement that nearly 300 Chinese citizens have been deported by the U.S. since July 2021, including more than 70 Chinese students with legal and valid materials. Since November 2023, at Washington Dulles Airport alone, there have been 10 cases of Chinese students being harassed, interrogated and, after having their visas canceled, deported.

The spokesperson listed two cases of Chinese scholars with legal visas being harassed during their entry to the U.S. border, each of them being interrogated for an exceptionally long 10 hours and being detained for 22 hours respectively. After these abnormal interrogations in the "small black room, both were deported after their visas were canceled.

The embassy spokesperson slammed acts by the U.S. as far exceeding the scope of normal law enforcement and driven by strong ideological bias, saying they gravely infringe on the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of persons concerned and disturb normal cross-border travel between China and the U.S..

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Monday also slammed the U.S. for overstretching the concept of national security, arbitrarily revoking visas, restricting entry, and forcibly deporting Chinese students without concrete evidence, causing great harm to the individuals involved and creating obstacles for cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and the U.S..

U.S. border control personnel have continuously and unjustifiably harassed, interrogated and deported Chinese nationals entering the U.S., at a time when the two Presidents reiterated the need to take further steps to expand people-to-people exchanges between the two countries on April 2.

In the statement, the spokesperson slammed that the U.S.' actions run against the common understandings reached by the two Presidents on enhancing and facilitating China-U.S. cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

China is gravely concerned and firmly opposes such moves, and has made solemn démarches to the U.S., the spokesperson said.