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"HONG KONG—Chinese authorities have detained a FedEx Corp. pilot in the southern city of Guangzhou, elevating pressure on the express shipping giant that is alr
by Leary 7y ago
"HONG KONG—Chinese authorities have detained a FedEx Corp. pilot in the southern city of Guangzhou, elevating pressure on the express shipping giant that is already in Beijing’s crosshairs amid a U.S.-China trade war.
The pilot, a former U.S. Air Force colonel named Todd A. Hohn, was detained a week ago while waiting for a commercial flight to his home in Hong Kong after flying deliveries throughout Asia from the FedEx regional hub in Guangzhou, people familiar with the matter said.
A lawyer for the Hohn family in Niceville, Fla., confirmed that Mr. Hohn had been detained in China. He was a wing commander at the Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma until 2017.
Reached briefly at his hotel room Thursday, Mr. Hohn identified himself to a reporter and then referred all questions to a family lawyer and discontinued the phone call. He is married and a father, the people familiar with the matter said.
When he was detained, Mr. Hohn was carrying nonmetallic pellets used in low-power replica air guns in a checked bag, the people said. Chinese authorities have alleged that Mr. Hohn was illegally transporting ammunition and have begun a criminal investigation, the people said."
- outworlder 7y ago> authorities have alleged that Mr. Hohn was illegally transporting ammunition Is this all they managed to come up with? The bar for saber rattling is low these days.
- camhenlin 7y agoYeah, and to add to that, it appears that while airsoft guns are technically very restricted to the point of being non-practical in China, there is no reason to believe that the pellets themselves would be restricted: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_issues_in_airsoft#China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_issues_in_airsoft#China
- outworlder 7y agoFrom that link, the law seems to be fuzzy enough that they can selectively enforce whatever they want.
- knzhou 7y agoRight. Thousands of people get detained for dumb reasons every day, in countries around the world. It’s only when China is involved that this somehow becomes the sinister, cynically strategic, premeditated work of a hive mind.
- steve19 7y agoSo they detained him and then found a reason: plastic BBs in a checked bag. Less dangerous than the plastic knives they serve with food in the cabin. China strictly controls ammunition inside China. There is no way plastic BBs are considered ammunition. ... But if China does they better stop the illegal export of BBs and airsoft guns to the USA. Taiwan will happily increase production.
- GhettoMaestro 7y agoIf only they cared that much about the illicit fentanyl production in their country. Oh wait, it isn't illicit, it is state-sanctioned.
- Enginerrrd 7y agoI mean, not that China deserves to be defended on anything, but on that particular issue with the west, there's a bit of history there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Opium_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Opium_War
- seanmcdirmid 7y agoThe USA never exported opium to China.
- Merrill 7y ago>"Western traders, including those from the United States, had long sought a variety of Chinese products (including furniture, silk and tea), but found there were few products that China wanted from the West. American trade with China began as early as 1784, relying on North American exports such as furs, sandalwood, and ginseng, but American interest in Chinese products soon outstripped the Chinese appetite for these American exports. The British had already discovered a great market in southern China for smuggled opium, and American traders soon also turned to opium to supplement their exports to China. Beyond the health problems related to opium addiction, the increasing opium trade with the Western powers meant that for the first time, China imported more goods than it exported." https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/dwe/82011.htm https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/dwe/82011.htm The US promoted the "Open Door" policy towards Chine, i.e. whatever traders of other nations could do, the US traders could also do.
- mc32 7y agoAre paintballguns and paintballs illegal there too?
- cjsawyer 7y agoThose are called Airsoft BB’s. They’re sold in the toy section at walmart.