"Now That You're Back, You Can't Leave": Dual Shackles of Anti-Fraud and National Security, Trapped Chinese Youth

To fight for the right to travel abroad, Li Ming (pseudonym), from Hunan province, has been struggling for two months. Li Ming is 25 years old. In June, while traveling in Malaysia, he received a call from the police station in his registered hometown. Li said the officer demanded he return to China within three days, or else he would be labeled a "fraudster" and have his household registration canceled. To prove his innocence, Li quickly booked a flight back. But he never expected that once back, he would never be able to leave again—without any prior notice, Li was flagged in the immigration system as a "high-risk individual involved in fraud," and he says, "I can't leave the country, not even to Hong Kong or Macau." He began advocating for himself, visiting the police station every few days, calling the mayor's hotline, and even spending 6,000 yuan on a lawyer, yet still has not received a clear explanation. At the end of July, China announced new immigration rules to take effect from September 15, including empowering border control officers to "dissuade" citizens from leaving, sparking widespread concern over restricted travel freedom. In reality, even before these new rules, many people—from civil servants and state-owned enterprise employees to ordinary citizens—have already been unable to leave due to passport confiscation or blacklisting. Weilei (real name Li Jinxing), a Chinese rights lawyer now living in Japan, was once restricted from leaving China for six years under the charge of "endangering national security." He told BBC Chinese he was unsurprised by the new rules and didn't understand why the public was so alarmed—"Hasn't China always been like this?" Southeast Asia Traveler Labeled a 'Fraud Suspect' This was Li Ming's first trip abroad. In August 2025, Li Ming used his savings to travel to Southeast Asia. He said he didn't book a return date, planning only to "spend all the money and then go back." Starting from Guangzhou, he traveled to Malaysia, then Indonesia and Cambodia. Over nearly ten months, he traveled while working locally—serving as a hotel security guard and working at logistics centers. Li said he was shocked when he received the police call in June—"How did they know where I was?" Faced with the demand to return, he didn't immediately agree and first sent family members to the police station to inquire. According to Li, his family reported that the police were firm, even stating, "We're bringing everyone back from overseas." Li didn't understand the reason, but he claimed the officer on the phone promised that as long as he returned, he could leave again in two days. But the day after his return, seven or eight police officers came to his home. They repeatedly took photos of him and questioned him in detail about his itinerary. Li felt he was treated like a "criminal." One officer told Li, "Now that you're back, you can't leave." Li was stunned and demanded an explanation. The officer replied, "China is good. It's unsafe abroad." Li didn't think much of it and went to apply for a Hong Kong-Macau travel permit, only to be told by staff that he was flagged in the system as a "high-risk individual suspected of telecom fraud" and could not leave. "I'm very sad, very distressed... I was put in this situation without knowing anything." BBC Chinese could not independently verify his claims. But according to public records, Chinese citizens currently have no way to check their border control status themselves—if authorities don't issue written or verbal notice, people usually only discover the restriction when applying for documents or attempting to leave. Li Ming's case is not isolated. Since the beginning of this year, social media platforms have seen increasing posts from people saying they received police calls after returning from Southeast Asia, requiring registration and being placed on a "suspected fraud list." BBC Chinese reviewed public data and found that since at least 2021, individuals have been restricted from leaving due to being listed as high-risk for telecom fraud. Some netizens believe border control is linked to "sensitive household registration locations." Chinese authorities have recently cracked down hard on fraud crimes, previously publicly identifying key areas for telecom fraud, including Fujian, Guangxi, Hainan, and Henan provinces. Li Ming knows his home province of Hunan is on that "list," but he says, "There are also many people from Hunan who are legitimately doing business there (in Southeast Asia)." What he finds contradictory is that "I even obtained a certificate of no criminal record." In Li Ming's view, authorities make no distinction—"They apply a blanket policy and treat everyone as a fraudster." Chinese authorities have not disclosed the criteria for being placed on the suspected fraud list. However, those listed must "prove their innocence" by submitting documents such as employment proof and salary records to the public security bureau for verification before they may be removed from the list. "No Way to Appeal" The potential reasons for border control extend beyond regional factors. Pi Pi, 26, once gave an interview to Hong Kong media during the anti-extradition bill protests in Hong Kong. After returning to China, Pi Pi said she was questioned by state security police (Guobao). "The village committee calls me periodically, asking what I'm doing, what I'm up to," she said. After China resumed international travel in January 2023, she tried to apply for a passport, but the department has not processed her application to this day. Currently, China's Exit and Entry Administration Law lists six circumstances under which citizens may not leave the country: those holding invalid documents, criminal defendants, individuals involved in unresolved civil cases where courts have barred departure, those deported by other countries and restricted from leaving, those endangering national security, and other cases prohibited by law or administrative regulations. Over the past three years, Pi Pi has shuttled between police stations and immigration departments, simply seeking a reason for the passport denial. She said a local immigration officer explicitly told her: "It's because of the Hong Kong incident." But the officer only gave oral notice, never providing written documentation. "If they gave me an official document, I could apply for administrative reconsideration. But they just say one sentence: 'You cannot go.'" Pi Pi feels helpless: "I talk about the law, but they don't talk about the law with me." Li Ming also said the departments he dealt with never provided any written proof. "In China, there is no way to appeal against exit restrictions," rights lawyer Weilei said bluntly. According to China's Administrative Licensing Law, when an administrative agency denies a license, it must provide a written explanation—but it is widely believed this is not strictly enforced in practice. Weilei has been under border control since 2013 and has never received written notice from authorities. He describes this as a "blind spot" in China's judicial system—"There is no responsible party; it's like an invisible hand controlling you." In Weilei's view, border control has become a tool for public security agencies to control citizens—"Attending a church, a book club, issuing a statement, even petitioning could get you flagged." China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and immigration departments did not respond to BBC Chinese's inquiries. Tom Kellogg, Executive Director of the Asian Law Center at Georgetown University in the U.S., told BBC Chinese that China has long used exit bans for various purposes. "In some cases, to ensure certain individuals cannot criticize the Chinese government overseas or punish their rights advocacy, state security agencies directly deny passport issuance," Kellogg said. On the other hand, state security personnel may require rights activists and lawyers to promise not to criticize the Chinese government in exchange for passport issuance. Weilei said he "reached a deal" with Chinese authorities in 2019: "They told me I couldn't oppose Xi Jinping or constitutional amendments allowing consecutive terms, and I said, 'Fine, then let me leave the country.'" BBC Chinese could not independently verify his claims. He later moved to Japan in 2022. Notably, the upcoming new rules explicitly state for the first time that "Chinese citizens who engage in illegal or criminal activities overseas, harming national security and interests," may be barred from leaving for up to three years after returning. In Kellogg's view, "This is another tool aimed at controlling what Chinese citizens do and say overseas." In the future, any criticism of the government abroad could give authorities legal grounds to ban departure, and the ban period "could far exceed this limit." From Civil Servants to Tightening SOE Employee Travel Restrictions Beyond border control and passport denials, travel restrictions have long become part of the "daily management" of specific groups. Among them, civil servants were among the first to be included, and restrictions have gradually tightened. In 2014, China's Central Organization Department further required strengthened management of officials' overseas travel, including centralized custody of passports by personnel departments. The official reason given was "individual officials fleeing abroad have occurred from time to time, causing serious negative impact on the party and state." By 2015, the Beijing News reported that the passport handover policy had been tightened to include section-level civil servants. A retired grassroots civil servant from Anhui province told BBC Chinese that his workplace began requiring passport submission around 2018. Traveling abroad required submitting an application form to the unit with a stated reason, but not all applications were approved—based on his observation, visiting relatives was more likely to be approved, while pure tourism might be rejected. This civil servant, who retired in 2025, still has his passport held by his former employer. In his view, the passport submission policy has some rationality—"mainly to prevent corrupt officials from fleeing or transferring assets, and for higher-level officials, possibly to prevent leaks of state secrets." However, last year, the New York Times reported that in some areas, even public school teachers, bank, and state-owned enterprise employees are now required to hand over passports. Xiao Wang, 32, works at a state-owned financial institution in Beijing. He confirmed to BBC Chinese that the institution already has a formal rule requiring passport submission, and overseas travel requires application and multi-level approval by leadership.