Gemini, Give me examples of people that the US has retained passports pending investigations
It's standard procedure in every country for some investigations.
This is false equivalence.
Outside of immigration issues, you can only be made to surrender your passport if you have been arrested and indicted for a crime, as a part of bail. That power can only be granted by a judge.
China arbitrarily traps people in China without any such thing or any due process whatsoever.
And what exactly are these founders being investigated for?