1. Safety of Chinese students
On March 30, according to a report by the United States**, a 25-year-old Chinese female citizen who was splashed with chemical liquid in Hawaii, USA, may be permanently disfigured. The suspect in the case made his first appearance in court on Monday, and new documents released that day showed that the victims of a chemical liquid attack near the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu last week could have been permanently disfigured and had burns to most parts of their bodies, including their mouths and throats. Court documents also detail the egregious nature of the attack, noting that the suspect, Sebastian Mahkwan, 29, was a "regular visitor." The victim, Danying Zhang, 25, has been identified as a Chinese teacher at Maryknoll School.
On the 29th of the month, it was reported that recently, when a number of Chinese students entered the country from Washington Dulles International Airport in the United States, they were unprovoked, harassed, and repatriated to China by US border law enforcement officers. These international students, all of whom have legal documents, have returned to the United States after returning to their home countries for vacation, traveling to a third country, or attending a conference, or come to the United States when they are new students, are subjected to lengthy interrogations, have their electronic devices checked, and some are even restricted in their personal liberty for more than 10 hours, and are prohibited from incommunicado with the outside world. The relevant practices of the US border law enforcement officers have had a serious impact on the studies of the Chinese students studying abroad and have caused great psychological harm. The Chinese Embassy in the United States attaches great importance to safeguarding the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students studying abroad, and has lodged solemn representations with the US side in this regard. The Chinese Embassy in the United States would like to remind those who intend to study in the United States to be cautious when entering the United States through Washington Dulles International Airport. At the same time, when entering the United States, improve security awareness, learn more about the U.S. entry policies and regulations, prepare in advance, bring all the entry materials, keep the school's *** If you encounter the U.S. border law enforcement officers, be calm, cooperate rationally, and respond appropriately; In case of unfair treatment, please write down the information of the on-site law enforcement officer, carefully check the content of the documents that must be signed and ask for backups, keep the necessary evidence, and later file a complaint through its competent authority, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official**
or through legal means to protect their rights and interests, and contact the Chinese embassy or consulate in the United States for assistance.
2. The safety of Chinese citizens traveling overseas
On May 29, a Chinese tourist died at a ski resort in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The 50-year-old male Chinese tourist disappeared while skiing with a friend, and was found in a snow cave by ski resort staff, who were later pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital, according to Japan**. The snow cave where the man was found is a no-go area, with a stream about 15 centimeters deep at the bottom of the cave, ropes and fences around the cave, and no entry signs in Japanese and English. **The man is tentatively suspected to have fallen into a snow cave while skiing, and an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
On the 29th of the month, it was reported that a Chinese man was accused of bringing a large number of pearls into Italy recently. According to reports, when the Italian police recently conducted an entry inspection on a Chinese male passenger, they found that his suitcase contained pearls weighing about 14 kilograms, which did not have any relevant documents. A few days later, the Chinese man sent an invoice with a face value of 7,000 euros (about 54,349 yuan), but ** believed that the pearls were worth far more than 7,000 euros. Subsequently, the police sent the pearls to the Venice chemical laboratory for identification, and the results showed that the pearls belonged to the Japanese "akoya" pearls, and the commercial value of 14 kilograms of pearls was about 1430,000 euros (about 1.11 million yuan). Eventually, the Chinese man was charged with smuggling and tax evasion and is currently on the run.
On the 29th, according to a report from France, the momentum of Chinese tourists' "return to France" was not as expected. In 2019, the number of Chinese tourists to France was about 2 million, accounting for 3% of French inbound tourists. Spending amounted to 3.5 billion euros (about 271.1 billion700 million yuan), accounting for 7% of France's tourism revenue. However, according to French statistics, the flow of Chinese tourists to France through travel agencies in 2023 will only recover 40% of the traffic in 2019, and the estimated consumption will only recover to 1 billion euros (about 77.).600 million RMB). According to the analysis of the report, there are multiple reasons for the above phenomenon: first, it is difficult for French consular services to fully meet the needs of Chinese tourists to apply for visas; Second, the number of civil aviation flights between China and France has not reached the previous level; Third, hotel room prices in France have soared; Fourth, there are frequent social security incidents in France, and Chinese tourists lack confidence in travel safety; Fifth, Chinese tourists are now more inclined to travel in neighboring countries.
3. Overseas security of Chinese citizens working abroad and Chinese-funded enterprises
On the 27th of the month, Italy reported that a Chinese man in Italy was robbed by two fake tax policemen when he went out to sign a contract, but after investigation, it was found that there was something else hidden. On the day of the incident, the man carried 9,000 euros in cash (about 70,000 yuan) and went to a restaurant in the northern suburbs of Turin with his Italian partner, planning to sign a business contract with the customer and make payment. But while waiting, two "tax policemen" suddenly appeared, demanded an inspection, and tied them up with a cable tie. Subsequently, the "tax police" snatched the cash and walked away. After receiving the report, through the monitoring, it was found that the partner was a fake tax police, and the two parties conspired to rob, and the so-called customer who was going to sign the contract did not exist at all, but was instructed by the partner to pretend to be others. At present, the two fake tax police officers have been sentenced to 5-7 years in prison respectively, and the partner is also facing trial on suspicion of conspiracy to commit robbery.
On March 30, a Chinese bar in the Italian province of Vicenza faced a heavy fine for selling tobacco products in violation of regulations. According to Italy**, when the Vicenza provincial tax police investigated a local Chinese bar, they found that there was a tobacco store in the bar, registered in the name of an Italian woman. The Chinese bar, on the other hand, offered tobacco products to customers in specialty stores without obtaining sales authorization. **Seized 485 kilograms of tobacco products, while the owner of the Chinese bar faces criminal prosecution for illegally selling tobacco products, which can be sentenced to up to one year in prison and a fine of up to 10,000 euros (about 77,632 yuan).
On the 29th, the United States ** reported that a Chinese man in New York, USA, admitted that he had defrauded tens of thousands of people by making up a fictitious allergy testing company on the Internet. According to New York State prosecutors, the man created a fictitious "allergy testing company" online and posted an online advertisement that the company had a "highly regarded intolerance testing technology" that could determine the body's response to 800 different food and environmental substances with just a handful of hair samples. However, when the customer sent the sample, the man did not perform any tests, but simply discarded the sample and sent a fabricated test report to the customer. In more than half a year, there are a total of 880,000 customers were defrauded, with a total value of about 5.9 million US dollars (about 42 million yuan). So far, the man has agreed to pay a fine of more than US$4 million (about 30 million yuan) and has pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Fourth, China's leading safety reminder and early warning
On the 30th of the month, it was reported that recently, an indefinite strike by the local community in Machu Picchu, a famous spot in Peru, led to the suspension of trains to the scenic spot and more than 1,000 tourists were stranded. The Chinese Embassy in Peru reminds Chinese citizens to pay attention to relevant information and be cautious when visiting the country to avoid causing inconvenience to their own travel. Local Police**: 105 Consular Protection and Assistance of the Embassy in Peru**: 0051-995203968*** Global Consular Protection and Service Emergency** (24 hours): 0086-10-12308 or 0086-10-65612308
On May 29, the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Adelaide reminded Chinese citizens in the consular district to pay attention to the following matters during the Spring Festival: 1. Raise awareness of safety precautions. Avoid traveling alone or at night, and be cautious about going to areas with poor safety conditions and remote areas; 2. Pay attention to traffic safety; 3. When participating in high-altitude, high-speed, adventure and other high-risk projects, you need to be guided by professionals and do what you can in combination with your own health condition; 4. When participating in water, diving, and swimming activities, pay attention to relevant warning signs and reminders, and do not swim in unfamiliar waters and at night; 5. Keep abreast of the relevant reminders and prevention and control guidelines issued by the Australian health department; 6. Beware of all kinds of fraud; 7. Advocate civilized travel. Abide by local laws and regulations and public order, pay attention to civilized words and deeds, and establish a good international image of Chinese citizens. In case of conflicts and disputes, please deal with them rationally and calmly, and resolve them through legal channels if necessary.