Chinese citizens are increasingly being denied entry to, or exit from, China. The US State Department’s report on the Human Rights Situation in China pointed out that the Chinese regime routinely rejects its own citizens’ attempts to enter or exit their homeland. Dissidents and activists living abroad, though Chinese citizens, are discouraged from entering China due to the risk of being incarcerated upon arrival.
Many Chinese citizens are unable to visit other countries because they are monitored by the Chinese regime and are unable to obtain passports. There are many with Chinese passports already living abroad, yet still under the shadow of the regime’s despotic control due to a visa application restriction. This restriction says that a Chinese citizen, no matter where he or she is, may apply for a visa to other countries only in China. In other words, Chinese citizens are denied the right to apply for a non-immigrant visa in a third country.
The third country visa application right is very important to Chinese living abroad, because it allows them to apply for a new visa without going back to China. Because of this restriction, those Chinese on F-1, H-1 or B-1 visas are still under the regime’s control.
Many Chinese people choose to live abroad, say in country A, to enjoy more freedom. But they hesitate going to a third country, say to country B, for fear of not being able to return to country A. This is because they must go back to China to apply for a new non-immigrant visa to country A. This restriction greatly limits their freedom abroad.
Many people think the restriction is set by the foreign country. But in fact it is an issue closely related to the Chinese regime’s policy of controlling its citizens. The purpose is to create an atmosphere of “No matter where you are, you are under our control.”
However, when the Chinese regime requests that the restriction be implemented, some western countries are not aware of the serious impact. Pursuing their own interests, these countries simply comply with the regime’s demands, not knowing that, by doing so, they are strengthening the regime’s dictatorship.
To maintain safety and immigration, some countries have completely removed the third country visa application requirement. For Chinese citizens, however, this restriction is unnecessary and unfair.
Let’s take the country A and country B example. First, no matter whether the person applies for a visa to visit country A from country B or from China, the decision making power still lies in the hands of country A.
Second, regular Chinese citizens are not threats to the freedom of western society. They come to the western world in search of freedom and truly deserve a helping hand. Someone might say that certain individuals could be a threat to the host country. If so, it is because these individuals are under the coercion of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP always contradicts itself by saying one thing and doing the opposite. It talks about maintaining freedom throughout the international community, yet it continually searches for loopholes to exploit.
Third, to help their citizens, most countries try to remove the visa requirement or implement “after landing” visa policies. American citizens can enter 130 countries without a visa and Canadians, 125. Even if a visa is required, it is very easy to apply for one. But Chinese citizens using private passports can enter only 21 countries without a visa, while those with business passports can enter 28 countries.
Lastly, even if one has to go back to one’s home country to apply for a visa to another country, one is welcomed and treated fairly. But in China, many people are treated badly or even arrested.
Therefore, the removal of a third country visa application right only benefits the CCP. It aids the CCP in tightening its control on its citizens and in infiltrating other countries.
The CCP disregards international treaties and openly interferes with the entry and exit rights of Chinese people in order to persecute its own citizens.
In any society and any country, when the people can no longer stand the pressure of dictatorship, their first reaction is to escape. But the CCP has deprived its own people of the right to escape. Its goal is to extend control over citizens regardless of where they are.
We call on the governments of all free societies to grant the third country visa right to Chinese citizens. Please do not help the despotic Chinese regime. Please grant the freedom of visa application to those who say to the CCP: “Your visa restrictions are unacceptable and unworthy of Chinese citizens who desire freedom.”
April 13, 2011
Read the original Chinese article.
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