Washington says China will not let US government employee leave the country
FILE PHOTO: A Chinese flag flutters on top of the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, China October 18, 2023. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
WASHINGTON - The U.S. State Department said on Monday that the Chinese government had blocked a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office employee visiting the Asian country in a personal capacity from leaving.
"We are tracking this case very closely and are engaged with Chinese officials to resolve the situation as quickly as possible," a State Department spokesperson said.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is part of the federal Department of Commerce.
The individual's name and whether the person was detained were not disclosed.
The Chinese embassy in Washington and the U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Washington Post reported on Sunday that a U.S. citizen who works for the Commerce Department had traveled to China several months ago to visit family. The man was being prevented from leaving the country after he failed to disclose on his visa application that he worked for the U.S. government, the newspaper said, citing sources.
Beijing has used exit bans on both Chinese and foreign nationals in connection with civil disputes, regulatory enforcement and criminal investigations. Analysts say the tactic is at times used to crack down on local dissent and also as diplomatic leverage in disputes with other nations.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
World US President Trump 'caught off guard' by Israel's strikes in Syria
Singapore LTA seeks tailored solutions to improve Bukit Panjang LRT's maintenance inspections
Opinion Singapore's vaping crisis lays bare the drug addiction nightmare for parents
Singapore Subsidies and grants for some 20,000 people miscalculated due to processing issue: MOH
Multimedia 'It's very sad': She comforts loved ones turned away by inmates
Opinion Sumiko at 61: 7 facts about facial skin ageing, and skincare ingredients that actually work
Business Why Singapore and its businesses stand to lose with US tariffs on the region
Opinion With Shatec cutting back operations, what's next for the hospitality sector?
Washington and Beijing have had friction for years over issues ranging from tariffs to the origins of COVID-19 and Taiwan.
Chenyue Mao, a Wells Fargo banker, has also been blocked from leaving China. Beijing's foreign ministry said on Monday she was involved in a criminal case and obliged to cooperate with an investigation.
Mao was the latest of several executives from foreign corporations to be stopped as they tried to depart China.
The U.S. bank suspended all employee travel to China after Mao's exit ban, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters last week, saying Mao was a U.S. citizen. REUTERS
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Straits Times
23 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Greece invites Libya to maritime zone talks to ease strained ties
FILE PHOTO: Children play by the tents, as recently arrived migrants shelter at the temporary migrants' camp staged on a soccer pitch in the region of Rethymno in Crete island, Greece, June 24, 2025. REUTERS/Stefanos Rapanis/File Photo ATHENS - Greece has invited Libya's internationally recognised government in Tripoli to start talks on demarcating exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean Sea, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said late on Wednesday. The move is aimed at mending relations between the two neighbours, strained by a controversial maritime deal signed in 2019 between the Libyan government and Turkey, Greece's long-standing foe, which mapped out a sea area close to the Greek island of Crete. "We invite - and I think you may soon see progress in this area - we invite the Tripoli government to discuss with Greece the delimitation of a continental shelf and an exclusive economic zone," Mitsotakis told local Skai television. Greece this year launched a new tender to develop its hydrocarbon resources off Crete, a move that Libya has objected to, saying some of the blocks infringed its own maritime zones. Law and order has been weak in Libya since a 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi, with the country divided by factional conflict into eastern and western sections for over a decade. Therefore, any communication with Libya was not easy, Mitsotakis said. He indicated that Greece was determined to continue talking to both the Tripoli-based government and a parallel administration based in Benghazi. In recent months, Athens has sought closer cooperation with Libya to help stem a surge in migrant arrivals from the North African country to Greece's southern islands of Gavdos and Crete and passed legislation banning migrants arriving from Libya by sea from requesting asylum. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia Live: Thailand, Cambodia clash with jets, rockets, artillery in deadly border row Asia 11 Thai civilians killed as Thai and Cambodian militaries clash at disputed border: Reports Singapore First BTO flats in Greater Southern Waterfront, Mount Pleasant to go on sale in October Singapore Boy, 15, charged after being caught with vapes 5 times; ordered to stay 2 years in S'pore Boys' Home Asia 'Vampire coach': Coercive blood sampling in school casts spotlight on Taiwan's culture of obedience Business MOM probing work injury claim flagged by late Sumo Salad boss Jane Lee: Dinesh Singapore What's key to a good life? Most Singapore residents choose emotional and mental well-being Singapore Over 2 years' jail for man who worked with wife to cheat her then boyfriend of $220k In an incident earlier this month, the European Union migration commissioner and ministers from Italy, Malta and Greece were denied entry to the eastern part of divided Libya, shortly after meeting the internationally recognised government that controls the west of Libya. REUTERS

Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Israel studies Hamas reply to Gaza ceasefire plan as fighting continues
Palestinians inspect the damage on houses destroyed during an Israeli military operation, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on July 23. JERUSALEM/CAIRO - Israel is reviewing a revised response from Hamas to a proposed ceasefire and hostage release deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on July 24, as Israeli air and ground strikes continued to pound the Gaza Strip. Hamas confirmed it had handed over a new proposal, but did not disclose its contents. A previous version, submitted late on July 22, was rejected by mediators as insufficient and was not even passed to Israel, sources familiar with the situation said. Both sides are facing huge pressure at home and abroad to reach a deal, with the humanitarian conditions inside Gaza deteriorating sharply amidst widespread, acute hunger in the Palestinian enclave that has shocked the world. A senior Israeli official was quoted by local media as saying the new text was something Israel could work with. However, Israel's Channel 12 said a rapid deal was not within reach, with gaps remaining between the two sides, including over where the Israeli military should withdraw to during any truce. A Palestinian official close to the talks told Reuters the latest Hamas position was "flexible, positive and took into consideration the growing suffering in Gaza and the need to stop the starvation". Dozens of people have starved to death in Gaza the last few weeks as a wave of hunger crashes on the Palestinian enclave. The World Health Organization said on July 23 that 21 children under the age of five were among those who died of malnutrition so far in 2025. Israel, which cut off all supplies to Gaza from the start of March and reopened it with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being diverted by militants. It says it has let in enough food for Gaza's 2.2 million people over the course of the war, and blames the United Nations for being slow to deliver it; the UN says it is operating as effectively as possible under conditions imposed by Israel. Airstrikes on Gaza The war between Israel and Hamas has been raging for nearly two years since Hamas killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages from southern Israel in the deadliest single attack in Israel's history. Israel has since killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza, decimated Hamas as a military force, reduced most of the territory to ruins and forced nearly the entire population to flee their homes multiple times. Israeli forces on July 24 hit the central Gaza towns of Nuseirat, Deir Al-Balah and Bureij. Health officials at Al-Awda Hospital said three people were killed in an airstrike on a house in Nuseirat, three more died from tank shelling in Deir Al-Balah, and separate airstrikes in Bureij killed a man and a woman and wounded several others. Washington has been pushing the warring sides towards a deal for a 60-day ceasefire that would free some of the remaining 50 hostages held in Gaza in return for prisoners held by Israel, and allow in aid. US Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff travelled to Europe this week for meetings on the Gaza war and a range of other issues. An Israeli official said Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer would meet Mr Witkoff on July 25 if the gaps between Israel and Hamas over the terms of a ceasefire had narrowed sufficiently. Hamas is facing growing domestic pressure amid deepening humanitarian hardship in Gaza and continued Israeli advances. Mediators say the group is seeking a withdrawal of Israeli troops to positions held before March 2, when Israel ended a previous ceasefire, and the delivery of aid under UN supervision. That would exclude a newly formed US-based group, the Gaza Humanitarian Fund, which began handing out food in May at sites located near Israeli troops who have shot dead hundreds of Palestinians trying to get aid. REUTERS

Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
S Africa select young guns Brevis, Pretorius for Australia tour
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Cricket - First T20 - South Africa vs Australia - Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban, South Africa - August 30, 2023 South Africa's Aiden Markram and Dewald Brevis celebrates after taking the wicket of Australia's Aaron Hardie REUTERS/Rogan Ward/File Photo Batters Dewald Brevis and Lhuan-dre Pretorius have been included in South Africa's Twenty20 and One Day International squads for their white ball tour of Australia next month, as off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen earns a maiden limited overs call-up. South Africa play their hosts in three T20 matches between August 10-16 before a three-game ODI series from August 19-24. Subrayen, 31, recently made his test debut in Zimbabwe, as did Brevis, 22, and Pretorius, 19. All three players have been included in both limited overs squads. Having rested several regulars for the tri-series tournament in Zimbabwe this month that also includes New Zealand, South Africa have recalled Aiden Markram, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs. Key all-rounder Marco Jansen misses out on the tour through injury. Markram will captain the T20 side, and Temba Bavuma will lead the ODI team. South Africa T20 squad: Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia Live: Thailand, Cambodia clash with jets, rockets, artillery in deadly border row Asia 11 Thai civilians killed as Thai and Cambodian militaries clash at disputed border: Reports Singapore First BTO flats in Greater Southern Waterfront, Mount Pleasant to go on sale in October Singapore Boy, 15, charged after being caught with vapes 5 times; ordered to stay 2 years in S'pore Boys' Home Asia Vampire coach: Coercive blood sampling in school casts spotlight on Taiwan's 'obedient culture' Business MOM probing work injury claim flagged by late Sumo Salad boss Jane Lee: Dinesh Singapore What's key to a good life? Most Singapore residents choose emotional and mental well-being Singapore Over 2 years' jail for man who worked with wife to cheat her then boyfriend of $220k Aiden Markram (captain), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Prenelan Subrayen and Rassie van der Dussen. South Africa ODI squad: Temba Bavuma (captain), Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Tony de Zorzi, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs and Prenelan Subrayen. REUTERS