Asagei Biz
Although visa-free stay for Japanese nationals in China is still suspended, it is now possible for them to stay in China in transit with a condition. In addition to the fact that no advance declaration is required, Chinese airlines are selling cheaper tickets one after another, and recently the number of travelers going to a third country “via China” is increasing.
At the same time, however, journalists familiar with the situation in China warn that “just going through China is risky. The reason, he says, is that many foreigners are detained for reasons they have no knowledge of.
China’s anti-espionage law came into effect in 2002, and so far 17 Japanese have been detained on suspicion of violating the law. Eleven of them have completed their sentences and returned to Japan, but five are still in detention and one died in prison due to illness.
Most of them are long-term residents, such as expatriates, but even those on vacation or in transit cannot be too careful. SU channel, a popular travel YouTuber, spent one night in Tianjin, China, on November 21 to make a connection there, but was detained at passport control at immigration. After being interrogated and subjected to relentless baggage searches in a separate room, he was released after about 30 minutes and managed to return to Japan, but “I was really scared,” he said.
As he himself said in the video, he was repeatedly entering and leaving the country multiple times in a short period of time, so we believe he was judged suspicious. In the case of YouTubers, if an antagonist sends a malicious e-mail to the Chinese side, such as “He is a spy,” there is a high possibility that he will be marked as a person to watch out for. However, even if there is no such reason, they may suddenly be detained. There is no guarantee that you will be safe because you are an ordinary person.
Cheap airline tickets are attractive, but when connecting in China, there is a risk of being detained, although the probability is low.
