The Chinese government\u2019s new policy of recalling passports restricts foreign travel for many residents of Xinjiang, Human Rights Watch said today. The policy, applicable to residents of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region since at least October, gives police wide power to scrutinize residents\u2019 proposed visits abroad.<\/p>\n
NOVEMBER 21, 2016 7:45PM EST<\/p>\n
(New York) \u2013 The Chinese<\/a> government\u2019s new policy of recalling passports restricts foreign travel for many residents of Xinjiang, Human Rights Watch said today. The policy, applicable to residents of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region since at least October, gives police wide power to scrutinize residents\u2019 proposed visits abroad.<\/p>\n The government\u2019s blanket recall of passports allegedly for reasons of \u201ccollective management\u201d follows similar passport restrictions in the Tibet Autonomous Region<\/a>, but has not apparently been imposed elsewhere in China. Xinjiang is home to 10 million predominantly Muslim Uighurs<\/a>, and ethnic and religious discrimination<\/a> against them is rampant, prompting some to flee<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cChinese authorities have given no credible reason for taking away people\u2019s passports, violating their right to freedom of movement,\u201d said Sophie Richardson<\/a>, China director. \u201cDoing so across an entire region is a form of collective punishment and fuels resentment toward the government in a region where tensions are high.\u201d<\/p>\n On October 20, 2016, the Shihezi Public Security Bureau (PSB) Immigration Office issued a statement on its official microblog account announcing that all passports registered in that area must be submitted to local police stations for an \u201cannual review,\u201d following which the police would hold them for \u201csafekeeping.\u201d The notice, dated October 19, warned that those who failed to turn in their passports risk being barred from leaving the country. It stated that those wishing to retrieve their passports must first apply for \u201can approval to leave the country\u201d at their neighborhood government offices (Ch: \u793e\u533a) before making an application at the PSB. Explanatory notes that accompanied the notice said the deadline for submitting the passports was February 28, 2017. The original October 19 notice has since been removed from the website, but can be accessed elsewhere<\/a>.<\/p>\n A call to an immigration officer in Shihezi PSB confirmed the policy on October 26. Calls to seven immigration offices in various locations across Xinjiang \u2013 Fukang City, Karamay City, Korla City, Tacheng Prefecture, Manas County, Aksu Prefecture, and Karakax County \u2013 between October 27 and November 2 also confirmed the policy. However, it appears that the policy has not yet been announced in Urumqi, the autonomous region\u2019s capital city. With the exception of one officer in Dabancheng District in Urumqi, several immigration officials in other Urumqi districts said that they have not received instructions to recall passports.<\/p>\n The officials who confirmed the recall to Human Rights Watch said the order was issued by the PSB at the regional level and had been rolled out across Xinjiang. They also confirmed that there would be an \u201cannual review\u201d of the passports, following which the police would hold them for \u201ccollective management\u201d (Ch: \u96c6\u4e2d\u7ba1\u7406) or \u201ccollective safekeeping\u201d (Ch: \u96c6\u4e2d\u4fdd\u7ba1). The officers did not respond to callers\u2019 questions about why it would be safer for the police to keep the passports, only that it was to \u201cmake management easier,\u201d or that it is \u201cmerely a change of management.\u201d All the officers reached, except the one in Shihezi, said the passports must be handed in by the end of October.<\/p>\n The passport policy does not seem to have been applied consistently across Xinjiang. The explanatory note issued by the Shihezi immigration office states that those who reside abroad with valid long-term foreign visas are not required to hand in their passports. Other officers said individuals should \u201cwait for phone calls from the local police stations\u201d before handing them in. In Tacheng Prefecture, the officer said they would consider exceptions such as impending travel; in a follow-up call on November 2, an officer in the same office said the recall had not yet taken place.<\/p>\n When asked for an official statement of the new policy, one officer said, \u201cDocumentation is not for you to read.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat authorities won\u2019t even explain this restrictive policy, let alone provide its basis, suggests another crude effort at undercutting Xinjiang residents\u2019 rights,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to see why such a move is necessary \u2013 but it\u2019s easy to see why there would be a harsh reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n The officers provided little information as to how people could get their passports back. Two said they had received the instructions to recall them \u2013 but none on how to return them. Two others said the passport holders have to \u201cexplain their situation\u201d about why they need their passports back or apply at the local police stations. Yet another two said a \u201cproof of travel\u201d document from the neighborhood office would be required; another said such a document could also be purchased from a certified travel agency.<\/p>\n Residents in Xinjiang are already subjected to a more onerous passport application process than other citizens in China. Xinjiang applicants are required to submit their bio-data<\/a> to the police, which includes a blood (DNA) sample, a voice sample, a 3D image of themselves, and their fingerprints, according to a media report. Calls to four immigration offices, as well as to a government-approved travel agency, also confirmed that this bio-data is required for all passport applications, regardless of ethnicity, across the region. In addition, Xinjiang applicants are required to submit extra supporting documents other than those commonly required elsewhere in China, such as copies of identity documents of the family and friends they intend to visit.<\/p>\n