US harassing Chinese crews raises questions of 'discriminatory enforcement'

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According to this report from the China Daily, recent weeks have seen increased numbers of US law officials boarding Chinese containerships investigating crew members’ links to the Chinese Communist Party. As of the beginning of November, some 21 China-flagged vessels, including some owned by container line Cosco and ship-to-shore gantry crane manufacturer ZPMC (which operates a fleet of heavylift vessels to take its cranes around the world) had been boarded as soon as they berthed. At least 16 Chinese aircraft crews had faced similar treatment.

“The US personnel scrutinised and photographed the ships and checked their documents. At the height of the raids, 16 ships were boarded one by one over 25 days in October. The US side’s extensive questioning of Chinese personnel sometimes lasted for several hours, repeatedly fixating on their CPC membership and even asking about reasons for joining the party,” sources said.