China's New Exit-Entry Law Sparks 'Lockdown' Fears, Ex-Police Officer Slams 'Fools'

China is set to implement a new exit-entry control law on September 15, a move that critics are labeling a "lockdown" and a significant blow to citizens' freedom to travel abroad. The law, officially framed as a measure to safeguard national security, has sparked widespread concern among scholars and anti-communist figures who believe it will severely restrict ordinary citizens' ability to leave the country.

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China's exit-entry new regulations have unprecedentedly increased the intensity and scope of border control. Even ordinary people who have nothing to do with the system will face many difficulties when going abroad in the future, because the reasons for blocking you at the airport are too broad. If you count the time, the days when Chinese people can relatively freely apply for passports and go abroad have been less than 20 years, and it is about to end...

Former Chinese Public Security Bureau officer and well-known online commentator Deng Haiyan, writing under the pen name "Eldest Uncle," expressed his dismay on the X platform. He noted that the new regulations grant authorities broad reasons to prevent individuals from departing, potentially trapping them at airports. Deng lamented that the period of relatively free international travel for Chinese citizens, which began less than 20 years ago, appears to be drawing to a close.

His post garnered over 500,000 views and hundreds of comments, with some users defending the law by claiming it is "not aimed at ordinary people." Deng vehemently refuted this, drawing parallels to past Chinese policies like land reform and the Cultural Revolution. He argued that while these policies were never explicitly stated as targeting ordinary citizens, they invariably impacted everyone. Deng criticized those who believe the law won't affect them as naive, stating they are ignoring historical patterns and the arbitrary nature of state control.

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I find some people to be naively outrageous. They forget the pain as soon as the wound heals, saying that the new exit-entry regulations are not aimed at ordinary people. Well, land reform, suppression of counter-revolutionaries, public-private partnerships, the Four Cleanups Movement, the Cultural Revolution... look at the policies of China's closed-door decades, which one was explicitly aimed at ordinary people? But which ordinary person could stay out of it? Whether you are an 'ordinary person' is like whether you will deliberately provoke trouble; it all depends on the state's attitude towards you. Smart people see the big picture from a small clue, and know the autumn from a falling leaf. But the fools in reality, even with leaves all over the ground, can pretend that spring is still here.

Online discussions echoed Deng's concerns, with many users drawing parallels to the Hong Kong National Security Law. They recalled initial assurances that the law would only target a few individuals, yet now ordinary Hong Kong residents reportedly self-censor their speech and hesitate to criticize the government, even in interviews with foreign media. This sentiment suggests a deep-seated fear that the new exit-entry law will similarly curtail freedoms for mainland Chinese citizens, regardless of their political involvement.

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When the Hong Kong National Security Law was just introduced, they claimed that this law only targets a few people who endanger national security, and not ordinary Hong Kong citizens... Now, can ordinary Hong Kong citizens still speak freely on social media? Do they dare to speak ill of the CCP when facing interviews with foreign media?