Is Rick Scott right about travel warnings?
Bottom Line: Senator Rick Scott’s been on quite the tear about China this week. On Monday he made the rounds and put out the call for Americans to stop buying products that are made in China.Tuesday,he took it a step further suggesting that China’s not a destination Americans should be traveling to and that the State Department isn’t doing enough to warn Americans about the risks of traveling to the country. If I hadn’t covered a series of stories this year, starting with the Dominican Republic, in which I was surprised by the travel warnings issued by the State Department but never publicized, I might think he’s being overly dramatic. Knowing now what I do about how understated the State Department’s warnings have been – I'm thinking he has a point.
Here’s the quote from Rick:
China is a national security risk. They are stealing our technology and using it against us. Every American should be aware of the threat to their privacy when traveling in China. While the Department of State posts travel advisories, they are buried deep within the Department’s website. These advisories correctly note that Americans’ social media accounts are widely monitored, and hotel rooms, phones, cars, and computers could be monitored or accessed without our knowledge. However, the Department should do more to clearly highlight the significant privacy risks when Americans travel to China. American travelers deserve to know the risks of traveling to China well before considering any potential itinerary.
So, is he right? You be the judge. Here’s the current State Department warning for China:
Exercise increased caution in China due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws as well as special restrictions on dual U.S.-Chinese nationals.
Chinese authorities have asserted broad authority to prohibit U.S. citizens from leaving China by using ‘exit bans,’ sometimes keeping U.S. citizens in China for years. China uses exit bans coercively:
- to compel U.S. citizens to participate in Chinese government investigations,
- to lure individuals back to China from abroad, and
- to aid Chinese authorities in resolving civil disputes in favor of Chinese parties.
In most cases, U.S. citizens only become aware of the exit ban when they attempt to depart China, and there is no method to find out how long the ban may continue. U.S. citizens under exit bans have been harassed and threatened.
U.S. citizens may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime. U.S. citizens may be subjected to prolonged interrogations and extended detention for reasons related to “state security.” Security personnel may detain and/or deport U.S. citizens for sending private electronic messages critical of the Chinese government.
That’s alarming if you ask me. But unless you look it up online would you ever be aware? Probably no more aware than Americans traveling to the Dominican Republic which has a significant warning about travel risks for Americans (and did prior to the mystery illnesses and deaths). Or What about the Bahamas where similar alarming travel advisories exist and existed prior to Dorian. The bottom line is that unless you’ve had travel canceled due to security concerns, which we’ve experienced a couple of times, you’re not likely to think about most destinations through that prism. I think Rick’s right about more transparency and awareness being needed with travel warnings to destinations with elevated security risks.