US siblings Victor and Cynthia Liu finally leave China as exit ban is lifted

Prevented from leaving since 2018 visit, they were allowed to fly home hours after deal to shelve US fraud charges against Meng Wanzhou

‘We oppose the use of coercive exit bans against people who are not themselves charged with crimes,’ US state department says

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Victor and Cynthia Liu had been prevented from leaving China since June 2018. Photo: Twitter

Published: 2:46pm, 28 Sep 2021Updated: 10:40pm, 28 Sep 2021

Two US citizens returned home at the weekend after three years of being barred from leaving China, coinciding with a deal to resolve Chinese tech executive Meng Wanzhou’s US fraud case.

The American siblings, Victor and Cynthia Liu, landed back in the United States on Sunday after flying from Shanghai on Saturday, ending a three-year limbo imposed by an “exit ban” from the Chinese authorities.

Neither Liu sibling had been accused of wrongdoing, but they were prevented from leaving China in June 2018 following a visit to the country – a move their lawyers said was designed to pressure their estranged father to cooperate with police in a fraud case. The US state department confirmed their return home.

“We oppose the use of coercive exit bans against people who are not themselves charged with crimes,” the department said. “We will continue to advocate on behalf of all American citizens in [China] subject to arbitrary detention and coercive exit bans.”