CCP expands travel restrictions to lower-ranking retired officials across China

Beijing [China], February 24 (ANI): The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has intensified oversight of retired officials by introducing stricter curbs on their overseas travel, insiders from multiple provinces told The Epoch Times (TET).
In recent months, authorities in Beijing have also expanded restrictions on public employees, Catholic clergy, and private citizens seeking to travel abroad. According to CCP insiders who spoke to the Chinese-language edition of TET, a growing number of lower-ranking retired officials must now secure Party approval before leaving the country.
All sources requested anonymity, asking that only their surnames or pseudonyms be used due to concerns about potential reprisals from authorities.
Following the rise in overseas travel after China joined the World Trade Organisation, the CCP has maintained controls on state personnel since the 2000s. Officials at the division level and above, retired bureau-level officials and higher, as well as those employed in departments considered sensitive, are required to obtain authorisation from local Party branches before foreign travel.
Zhou, a civil servant in Beijing, told TET that the tightened measures are now extending to certain retired division-level officials.
"Officials have always needed approval to exit the country. The policy was previously less strict for retirees," she said. "Now, retired division heads from key departments are also required to report their overseas trips, and those in sensitive posts have had their passports confiscated and stored centrally."
Zhou added that the revised measures were communicated internally and that she was unaware of any public announcement.
Chen, a retired division-level official from Jiangsu Province in eastern China, told TET that he had been verbally informed that retirees must obtain travel clearance from their former employer before beginning the standard application process.
"Previously, the rules mainly targeted bureau-level officials. Now, retired division-level officials from important posts, including myself, are also subject to these controls," he said.
Zhang Xiang, a retired official from Jiuquan in Gansu Province, said that restrictions in his city have expanded further to include section-level officials.
"In the past, section-level officials only had to report cross-border travel. Now they must seek approval," he said. "Restrictions for division-level and above used to last three years after retirement, but that period has now been extended."
According to internal guidance dated January 16, 2024, reviewed by TET, retired prefecture-level officials seeking to travel abroad for personal reasons must obtain permission from provincial Party committees. County- and division-level retirees must apply through city-level Party committees, while other retired officials must seek approval from Party committees at their former workplaces.
Li, a former deputy division head from Hunan Province who retired over three years ago, told TET that he recently learned the travel limits placed on him had not been lifted as anticipated.
He said Hunan implemented a three-year restriction policy two years ago, requiring retired division heads and deputy division heads to register with the National Immigration Administration before travelling overseas.
"The human resources department keeps both my passport and my Hong Kong and Macau travel permit," Li said. "Before travelling abroad, I had to provide my flight number. My passport would be returned two days before departure, and I had to hand it back within a week of returning."
Li said he recently attempted to cancel his registration with the immigration authorities to visit the US but was informed that the restriction period had been extended beyond three years after retirement.
"I was told to apply through HR before going to the National Immigration Administration to remove the registration, but HR told me it had received instructions to prolong the restriction," he said. "I can't travel to America to see my granddaughter."
The CCP's increased control over overseas travel comes amid a series of videos released in recent months by the US Central Intelligence Agency encouraging Chinese officials to defect. It also coincides with heightened scrutiny of officials' foreign ties.
In September 2025, Beijing introduced new regulations requiring that all Chinese nationals employed at foreign embassies and consulates in China be recruited and managed solely through state-run service agencies.
Additionally, a January report by the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation stated that Beijing initiated a systematic campaign last year targeting so-called "naked officials," those whose spouses or children reside abroad, removing them from senior leadership roles.
Shen Ming-shih, a researcher at Taiwan's Institute for National Defence and Security Research (INDSR), told TET that the development reflects prevailing realities within China.
Referring to a popular saying among Chinese elites, "Anti-America is the job, going to America is life," Shen said that the fact that many officials have sent family members to live in Western countries highlights a lack of trust within the system.
Wang Shiow-Wen, an assistant research fellow at INDSR, told TET that the intensified measures against "naked officials" indicate the CCP's growing concerns over safeguarding its authority. (ANI)