Public sector employees in China are being ordered to hand over their passports as President Xi Jinping’s control over all aspects of society intensifies.
The number of public sector workers facing restrictions on their ability to travel abroad has expanded greatly this year to include most staff in schools, universities, local governments and other state-owned companies.
Legislation dating back to 2003 allowed China’s communist government to restrict international travel for mid- to high-level officials.
Within the framework of the so-called passport collection campaign, local authorities can monitor and monitor who travels abroad and how often.
Now, as President Xi continues to intensify his dictatorship’s invasion of people’s private lives, he has also intensified his campaign against foreign spies.
This has led many workers to suddenly discover that they cannot enjoy the freedom of traveling as they did not long ago.
President Xi Jinping continues to intensify his dictatorship’s invasion of people’s private lives while intensifying his campaign against foreign spies.
A Chinese passport. The number of public sector workers facing restrictions on their ability to travel abroad has greatly expanded this year to include most staff in schools, universities, local governments and other state-owned companies (file image)
Speaking to the Financial Times, a primary school teacher in Sichuan province said: “All teachers and public sector employees were asked to hand over our passports.”
Educators in other cities across the country, including Guangdong and Yichang, have reported introducing similar restrictions.
Teachers have long faced some kind of restrictions on their foreign travel for fear of the ideas they might encounter outside China and then instill in their students.
This has increased considerably in recent years, with many restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic being lifted and replaced with similar bans.
Teachers in Wenzhou, eastern China, were asked to hand over their passports in March and their names would be registered with the border control unit of the public security bureau.
To travel abroad, teachers must apply to their schools and are typically restricted to one trip a year for less than 20 days a year.
Those who refused to hand over their passport or travel anyway could face “criticism and education” or could even be referred to China’s anti-corruption authority.
They could also face a travel ban of two to five years.
Other sectors are also being affected, with some state-owned company workers needing approval from nine different departments before they can go on holiday, yet they have not received their passports.
Retirees are not immune to the crackdown either, as a former aircraft manufacturer who has been retired for more than ten years suddenly had his passport taken away and was prevented from visiting his family living abroad.
Other sectors are also being affected, with some state-owned company workers needing approval from nine different departments abroad before they can go on holiday, yet they have not received their passport (file image).
The 76-year-old, who describes himself as a patriot, said his former employee had no reason to stop him from traveling to see his grandson.
China’s Foreign Ministry told the Financial Times it was not aware of the situation and referred questions to relevant authorities.
The government has long used national security as a pretext to clamp down on freedoms. In the 21st century, Chinese citizens face censorship over what they can and cannot do, both online and offline.
Meanwhile, residents of areas like Tibet have faced oppression for decades. Having lost his freedom to travel abroad more than a decade ago.
