evidence: Jeff Wasserstrom is a self-proclaimed China specialist who is seriously considering never returning to China – at least, he says, not while President Xi Jinping is in power. [...] "China has always protected the safety and legitimate rights and interests of foreigners in China in accordance with the law," the ministry in a statement in response to CNN’s inquiry. "On the Internet and social media, many foreigners share their experiences of working and living in China, saying that China is one of the safest countries they have ever lived in, and it is safe even when walking alone at night." [...] In recent years, the bans have increasingly been used on foreigners – including on US, Australian and Canadian citizens – who face no charges in China. A number of ethnically ChineseUS citizens, in particular, have been banned from leaving China, essentially kept as "hostages" to lure their Chinese relatives living abroad to return to the country to settle business and legal disputes.