Safeguard Defenders see rising number of exit bans

China is increasingly preventing people from leaving the country, including foreign executives. According to a new report by the human rights organization Safeguard Defenders, dozens of Chinese and foreigners have been affected by exit bans. In addition, a Reuters analysis of records of exit bans from China’s Supreme Court database shows an eight-fold increase in such cases between 2016 and 2022. Most in the database are civil, not criminal, cases. Europe and the US generally only prevent people from leaving on the grounds of criminal investigations.