citizens without regard to international norms, including the Vienna Consular Convention and the 1980 U.S.-China Bilateral Consular Convention. These means include broad travel prohibitions, known as exit bans, which are sometimes used to prevent U.S. citizens who are not themselves suspected of a crime from leaving China as a means to pressure their relatives or associates who are wanted by Chinese law enforcement in the United States. . The Department of State also stated that Chinese officials arbitrarily detain and interrogate United States citizens for reasons pertaining to state security and often subject United States citizens to lengthy pretrial detention in substandard conditions while investigations are ongoing. (6) The People’s Republic of China is considered one of the least free countries to operate in as a journalist, ranked 177 out of 180 in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, above Eritrea, North Korea, and Turkmenistan. (7) According to Freedom House’s 2019 Freedom of the Net annual report, the People's Republic of China was ranked the world’s worst abuser of internet freedoms for the fourth consecutive year with censorship reaching unprecedented levels . (8) The Government of the People’s Republic of China restricts the movement of journalists from the United States and journalists representing United States media outlets by denying entry into the People's Republic of China, issuing short visas, and restricting access to people and places unless prior approval is received. (9) The Government of the United States generally allows journalists, diplomats, and other citizens of the People's Republic of China to travel freely within the United States, including on college and university campuses and in the halls of Congress. (10) The Government of the People’s Republic of China either directly or indirectly funds Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms operated on campuses of institutions of higher education in the United States and in K–12 public school