New York, September 17, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has raised concerns over a new Chinese government decree that expands the powers of administrative authorities to prevent people from leaving the country, saying the measures could undermine the internationally recognised right to leave a country.
According to HRW, the decree, which came into effect on September 15, allows authorities to impose exit restrictions on Chinese nationals and foreigners for a range of broadly defined reasons related to national security and risk.
The rights organisation said restrictions on the right to leave a country must be necessary and proportionate to legitimate objectives under international human rights law.
“The Chinese government is tightening its rules to decide arbitrarily who can and cannot leave China, violating the internationally protected right to leave one’s country,” said Maya Wang, deputy Asia director at HRW.
Wang said Chinese authorities had increasingly subjected human rights defenders and ethnic minorities to restrictions and scrutiny over international travel, adding that the implications could extend to foreigners in China as well.
“Everyone, including foreigners, should worry about their ability to leave China,” she said.
HRW also pointed to instances in which Chinese authorities imposed exit bans on foreign nationals without publicly stated criminal charges. The organisation said that in July 2025, China prevented a US federal employee and a Wells Fargo bank executive from leaving the country, although neither had been charged with a criminal offence.
The rights group noted that, with the exception of people from Xinjiang and Tibetan areas, Chinese citizens had generally gained greater access to international travel after 2002, when the Ministry of Public Security’s Entry and Exit Administration introduced an “on demand” system aimed at simplifying passport applications.
However, HRW said China had tightened exit controls over the past decade, including through travel restrictions targeting religious minorities and human rights defenders.
The organisation said severe restrictions continued in Xinjiang despite some Uyghurs now being permitted to travel abroad. It linked the restrictions to the confiscation of previously issued passports by authorities in Xinjiang in 2016.
HRW criticised the new decree for allowing authorities to broadly restrict the departure of both Chinese nationals and foreigners on what it described as vague grounds, arguing that such provisions do not meet international human rights standards.
Wang said the expanded exit restrictions could have wider consequences for freedom of expression and academic freedom by encouraging self-censorship among people who fear being prevented from leaving China.
“Concerned governments should press China to repeal these abusive rules and support their citizens affected by these arbitrary restrictions,” she said.
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