China is preventing a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office employee from leaving the country, the U.S. State Department confirmed on July 21.
“We are tracking this case very closely and are engaged with Chinese officials to resolve the situation as quickly as possible,” the State Department told The Epoch Times in a statement. “The Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens.”
The employee, traveling “in a personal capacity,” was “made subject to an exit ban,” the agency said.
The statement confirmed a report by The Washington Post on July 20 that an American citizen working for the U.S. Commerce Department had traveled to China to visit family several months ago, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation. The individual was barred from leaving China because he had failed to disclose his employment with the U.S. government on his visa application, the report said….