Editor’s Scratchpad

Wednesday, April 25, 2001

Traveling to China
is risky business today

The State Department has issued a warning on travel to China that bears repeating as it may well apply to residents of Hawaii.

The department notes that the Ministry of State Security (MSS) in Beijing has recently detained several American citizens or permanent residents of the United States "under suspicion of espionage or damaging China's national security." The announcement from Washington says "the Chinese government has not offered any evidence to substantiate these allegations."

In particular, Chinese Americans or Chinese residents of the United States are cautioned "if they have at any time engaged in activities or published writings critical of Chinese government policies." They are further cautioned that "travel to Taiwan or involvement with Taiwan media organizations has apparently also been regarded as the equivalent of espionage by MSS."

Traveling Americans should be reminded that the constitutional rights to which they are entitled in the United States do not follow them abroad, either to China or any other place. That can sometimes be easily forgotten, with unhappy consequences. For details about travel to China, please see: http://travel.state.gov.

--Richard Halloran

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