American Citizen Remains Barred from Exiting China – News Article #12
It has been since Christmas 2017 that Henry Cai, a United States citizen, has been banned from leaving China.
According to the WSJ, Cai was approached by police at the airport as he was trying to fly home. His exit ban has been the result of a financial dispute between business partners and a Beijing company that he was a director and shareholder.
Cai is allowed to move freely in China, but greatly misses his family, who is also battling crisis. Last year, his daughter fell seriously ill, and is still undergoing treatment. His son shoulders payments on a line of credit that was taken against their families home. Additionally, his wife, has added new students to her tutoring list and has found new substitute-teaching opportunities.
This story is news, but more importantly, it is a feature. It brings up human interest. A feature story is a good fit for this week as we move closer to writing our own feature. It is also a little bizarre to me that Cai has been barred from exiting China over a financial dispute. The story might be a little subjective as it writes that Cai seems to be a target of the Chinese justice system.
Friday, November 18th, 2022 @ 3:45 pm
At least one of the ideas behind this story, maybe the frame, is that China is evil and does a lot of stuff that makes people suffer. Since it’s in the WSJ, it might also be a warning for other American companies thinking about setting up shop in China.