US State Dept issues China travel warning today

[txflood33]

just an fyi....my cruise is still a little over a year out so I certainly have some wait and see time

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/china-travel-advisory.html?fbclid=IwAR2w4Vx2HYanC1b9rOe6VxUdgDazfAS91hwQoJ8AoB3TtTsjDdkbCDP0gaE

[tango223]

Our cruise is with 60 days.  We are leaning towards canceling the land portion which is China.  We will loose a lot of money but we'd rather be safe than sorry.

[Philob]

This is a renewal of an advisory that came out January 2018.

 

 

 

 

[sippican]

15 hours ago, tango223 said:

Our cruise is with 60 days.  We are leaning towards canceling the land portion which is China.  We will loose a lot of money but we'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

Are you  boarding or disembarking in China? Any ports of call there?

 

[mom says]

Your thread title is misleading and alarmist. An advisory was RE issued. There is no warning. Those are 2 very different things. And  unless you are a Chinese/American dual citizen, or are in a position that exposes you to official scrutiny, you aren't at any more risk than you were a year ago.

[tango223]

2 hours ago, sippican said:

 

Are you  boarding or disembarking in China? Any ports of call there?

 

We are disembarking in Hong Kong then onto a land option called Walls and Warriors with Silverseas.  We head to Xian and then to Beijing.  

[tango223]

2 hours ago, mom says said:

Your thread title is misleading and alarmist. An advisory was RE issued. There is no warning. Those are 2 very different things. And  unless you are a Chinese/American dual citizen, or are in a position that exposes you to official scrutiny, you aren't at any more risk than you were a year ago.

If you read the advisory of extreme caution, it doesn't limit to those with dual citizenship.  It says the exit ban is arbitrary & you may have access to the embassy.  I'm not sure we are willing to risk going there.

[PCWalton1]

1 hour ago, tango223 said:

If you read the advisory of extreme caution, it doesn't limit to those with dual citizenship.  It says the exit ban is arbitrary & you may have access to the embassy.  I'm not sure we are willing to risk going there.

But this is just the reissuing of the same advisory from last year when you were willing to go. What changed for you that you no longer want to go?

[diesel1973]

Went there there this past Sep. and was not aware of any travel ban . Made it back OK and was a great trip. Don't think they will detain any people as they have enough now! LOL  Bejing and Xian were the most interesting cities besides Shangai. If it were me I would wait and see. Just my 2c

[BruceMuzz]

Canada, Mexico, Germany, Russia, China, Turkey, and Japan have all issued warnings to their citizens planning to travel in the USA.

Are you thinking about leaving?

[tango223]

2 hours ago, PCWalton1 said:

But this is just the reissuing of the same advisory from last year when you were willing to go. What changed for you that you no longer want to go?

 I wasn't aware of the warning last year.  This was my husband's desire to go so I'm leaving the decision to him. I think he'll cancel the land portion at the end of our trip.  

[Betty in Cozumel]

Txflood 33:  I didn't realize this was a re-issue either.  I think it is heightened because of all the crap happening right now with the Hauwei CFO arrest.  I am Canadian and my husband is Canadian too but born in Hong Kong when it was under British rule.  We know China does not honor dual citizenships but since he doesn't have a Chinese or HK passport, we are hoping it will be okay.  We are boarding a cruise in Shanghai in March and using the TWOV (Transit without a visa).  This is our only stop in China.

Edited January 5, 2019 by Betty in Cozumel

[sippican]

We begin in Shanghai, go to Xian, back to Shanghai,  then onto Beijing. We have no intention of changing our plans. Many of our destinations have advisories.

Heck, its not even safe to live in the US!

Everyone needs to do what makes them comfortable I guess.

[PCWalton1]

Yes in the advisory released Thursday the State Department kept China at Level 2 which  is the same as 2018. Thousands are visiting every week without incident. The few of US citizens detained are high profile.  

 

In a recent high-profile case, two young Americans, Victor and Cynthia Liu, and their mother, Sandra Han, are believed to have been prevented from leaving China. where they have been held since June.

US authorities told CNN they are working closely with the two Liu children who are reportedly being used to pressure their father, Liu Changming, a high-profile Chinese fugitive, into returning to Beijing where he is wanted for financial crimes.

Even though Victor Liu was born in the US and both Liu children hold a US passport, Beijing views them as citizens of China and subject to its jurisdiction. China has accused the Liu family of being “involved in economic crimes.”

[txflood33]

So, my reason for posting this was not to be an alarmist.....I also don't feel the thread title is misleading. A travel alert was issued. This is our first trip to SE Asia so I never had any reasons to check travel advisories for this part of the world. To me, this is similar to me not knowing what vaccinations are needed to travel to Africa....I'm not currently going, so I haven't researched it.

 

I posted under the assumption there may be others planning their first time Asia vacation as well.

 

As mentioned here, there are unsafe areas in the US, I speak the language and would have a better chance of understanding what exactly was happening. I'm certainly not cancelling anything yet, but wanted to pass along info so others could make an educated decision regarding their trip(s) and their comfort level.