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LA FORME OLYMPIQUE DE LA CHINE,
Editions Favre, 320 pages.

JEUX OLYMPIQUES PEKIN 2008

RETOUR ACCUEIL SITE CHINOIS DE FRANCE


BOUTIQUE CHEZ AMAZON

Outil indispensable et complet pour mieux suivre les Jeux et l'évolution de la nouvelle Chine.

Les Jeux de 2008 sont un challenge et un accélérateur pour la Chine. L'ouvrage détaille les caractéristiques des Jeux et LA NOUVELLE CHINE : société, diplomatie, économie, finances, recherche, R & D, environnement, produits chinois en Occident, technologies…

BOUTIQUE CHEZ AMAZON

THE CHINESE EMPIRE

A better understanding of the future world N° 1
Past and present of the Chinese diaspora


In French: For english translation

FAVRE Publishing House

Third edition !lllllBy the author: Dr Pierre Picquart

informations Press release

The success stories of China & Chinese world !

China geopolitical news, chinese diaspora

Buy the book



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: general diffusion and orders: Interforum Editis : http://www.interforum-di.com
Contact Press Relations : Gaëlle Trannoy : Tél : + 33 (0)1 42 22 01 90 / Mail : paris@editionsfravre.com
Contact author : Interviews p.p@9onligne.fr +33 (0)6 15 07 88 80 / website : http://www.chinoisdefrance.com
Éds. Favre / ISBN : 2–8289–0793-7 EAN 9782828907938 / Paperback essay 15 x 23,5 cm, 224 p. Price : 22 €
If you are interested in translation rights of the book, contact the FAVRE Publishing House or Dr Pierre Picquart



This book gives a complete picture of this Chinese success story. It does so by going back to the origins of this evolution and by exploring the histories of both China and its Diaspora.
Further d’informations >>> French press releasep Index Introduction Abstracts 中 国 王 朝 Press release

 


china geopolitical news, chinese diaspora

UK INDEX jjjjjjjjjjjjjjj FORUM

Dr Pierre Picquart is a member of the staff of China Associates : Your future is in China

To read in French
© Article La revue des Deux Mondes (1) about
Taiwan and China ©


ANNEXES TO THE EU REPORT
Expert Dr. Pierre Picquart to the European Commission :
“EU-China Co-operation Against Illegal Migration (EUCAIM) Information Campaign”
Complement © 2001 to the final report concerning the mission in China from 4 to 15 June 2001

Information Campaign concerning the Illegal immigration in China ©

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SPECIAL COMPLEMENT UE REPORT

china geopolitical news, chinese diaspora

by the chinese expert : Dr Pierre Picquart

TO READ THE UE Dr Pierre Picquart REPORT N° 1

1. Effective capability of the administrative structures set up for dealing with trafficking in human beings.

It is interesting to illustrate the effective capability of the administrative structures set up for dealing with trafficking in human beings:

Do the Chinese Administrative structures and the available resources can assure to launch an information campaign against illegal immigration?


• China is a wide country with a centralised administration system. Local Administrative structures do not have the power to decide on themselves because of every decision have been made by Central Government.

Today, China is divided in to 23 provinces (with Taiwan counted as one of the 23, and, since 1988, Hainan as another), five Autonomous regions and four central-level Municipalities, namely Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai and Tianjin. In 1997 the hitherto British-run Hong Kong reverted to Chinese sovereignty as a special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Under the provinces come districts (diqu) and cities. Districts are divided into countries (xian) and towns, and further down the pecking order, counties subdivide into villages (xiang) and townships (zhen). What sometimes make for confusion is that the same place-name could stand for both an administrative unit and the capital of that administrative unit.

Beyond the above territorial organisations the structures, its organisational working and resources at disposal of Chinese provinces and in particular to the 4 provinces object of our report, allow us to state that a national or provincial information campaign can be launched without difficulties only in the case of an approval of the Central Authorities and with the aid of the following:

- A represented Administration in the Provinces which control and cooperates with the local Authorities
- Several human resources especially for the needs of the order maintain, police, army and justice
- Responsible in charge for the organisation working with suitable professional profiles
- Political organisation and social associations well structured in each province, district county, towns and villages
- Legislative structure and a common national language
- Local and financial resources, suitable means of transport especially in the key regions.
- Data bases and software and hardware operating in network
- Effective capability of work of the persons in charge working in the Administrative structures
- Stability in the political situation
- The possibility to travel through the Country in any direction

It must be taken into the due consideration the diffusion of the messages object of the information campaign through the radio, television, newspapers, magazines in the whole country and for all difference targets.

Good Social, economical and political conditions and the development of information and private sector in the four provinces allow us to state that administrative structures in loco have all the necessary resources to fight against the trafficking of Human Beings.

Through the visits to Guangdong Administrative Structures (see final report) have emerged a good level of development and an availability of resources really sufficient to launch and manage an Information Campaign in China, both for Chinese Authorities and for eventual partners although previous agreement among all these structures.

• Concrete reason and identification of the possible obstacle to the information campaign


Such clearly divisions are clearly germane for the Chinese central authorities to manage this nation. China is too vast territory not to be broken up into local units and subcultures. The unites and subcultures do not always coincide. A second way of dividing china is along boundaries dictated by the geography. The scholar G. William Skinner's framework is useful to the study of mobility, to understand which we need to dissolve the provincial barriers into more inclusive entities, and to think Chinese history not in national terms, nor in provincial terms, but in terms of the logic of the terrain (language, socio-cultural elements and the economy). The administrative partition of space between Fujian and Guangdong provinces obscures, as macroregional boundaries do not, the regional systems in which some immigration stories unfolded.
Moreover, it must be emphasized other eventual obstacles to the efficacy in an information campaign are:
Bureaucratic slowness in decision-making
Political obstacles in the process reforms
Poor creativity of the press agencies due to the control of the Central Government
The different slang, economic conditions and financing among the four provinces.
All mentioned above must not be considered as a brake in the realization of the information campaign. Furthermore all the four provinces have already launched information campaigns against the trafficking of human beings on different levels and geographic areas

2. Assessment of the relevance of an information campaign.


All the data collected during the mission in China lead to us to state that this is not the moment, for the European Commission, to launch an information campaign. The existence of all these obstacles, do not allow to assess the really relevance of such operation. It should be better to wait the progresses in the negotiations with Local Authorities. Anyway, it must be said that the difficult in the planification of an information campaign are due to :

- The refuse of three Provinces Liaoning, hejiang and Guangdong (only the province of Fujian is open to the initiatives);
- Chinese provinces must have the authorization of the Central Government for any initiatives;

1. The central government power exercises a superior control over all the local authorities and their actions. China's authorities have clearly stipulated that they wish to keep control.
2. Chinese Authorities are not open, especially to political cooperation.
3. Madame Lu, Director of Consular Department of Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs do not make a decision nor she is available to agree any initiatives without previous authorization of central government, later on.
4. Considering all the above mentioned reasons and in front of the several refuses, it is not timely to launch an information campaign in China. Information Campaign policy clash against domestic political considerations in which European Commission cannot take part.

• An information campaign could be considered the appropriate answer to the challenge which has been launched?
As already mentioned an information campaign up to today must not be considered the appropriate answer. It should be better to keep on the negotiations in order to encourage China in the fight against illegal migration, trafficking of human beings and false documents.

• The factors, which allow reaching, through the above mentioned approach, the realization of the objectives and the objectives that could lead to make relative the real impact of the campaign. What between these two concept approaches will prevail?

Up to today some factors do not allow us to identify the objectives of an information campaign in China.

• Information campaign could be successful, in a limited way, because the factors which lead to make relative the impact of the campaign are the following:

- Illegal migration is above all economic: migrants leave the country because they are in difficult economic situation. They are ready to face difficult situations, even without the information campaign because they already know the ruling legislation and all eventual trouble connected to the illegal migration.
- There is no adhesion of central and provincial authorities up to today.
- Chinese families encourage their children to leave the country for economic reasons.
- China authorities already fight against illegal migration and have already launched information campaign
- European Commission do not substitute Chinese authorities: Sanction against the trafficking of human beings is still too limited (except in case of death of a clandestine).
- The provinces consisting in big surfaces and with different targets (young people, students, citizens, travelers unemployed) are several urban and rural structures. It is not possible to reach a complete efficacy because it is not reasonable to think to address the messages contemporary, all these targets in whole the country.
- The principal objectives of an information campaign must gather some criteria that are the adhesion of responsible authorities, the adhesion of people working against illegal migration. It must be emphasized that the persons who are not ready to reach the message of the information campaign are the traffickers in human beings and illegal migrants, although they know the ruling legislation.
Taken into account these elements, it must be said that it takes to make relative the impact and the success of the information campaign, emphasizing that all the objectives will be reached completely considering the used resources.

• The final report says about the assessment of the relevance of an information campaign.


To confirm this position, the final assessment in the report says : " an information campaign in the four key-provinces would result in a positive action against illegal migration, thanks to the valuable information and contribution of the European Union.…(page 16)" … "… The identification and implementation of the information campaign in China can not be feasible without the prior authorisation and agreement of China's Central Government. Thus, I do not personally recommend to set up a mission of expertise and identification at this present time even though the province of Fujian seemed to be willing and open to co-operation and collaboration…" (page 15)… "… In summary, it is clear that the achievement of the information campaign in China requires much more explanations and clarifications, new meetings and high level consultations between political leaders. Thereupon, the European Union should wait for the decision of China's central government authorities and should not start up any identification campaign without the prior official agreement. It seems that the Chinese authorities have been already achieving a lot in the framework of the struggle against illegal migration. Thus, the European Union should carefully prepare if the members States intend to bring their contribution and added value in this field (page 15).

3. Operational conclusion of the Dr Pierre Picquart's Report.

The Dr Pierre Picquart's report suggests

a) The creation of a European Union steering committee with the proposition to determine the possibilities of co-operation with the Chinese authorities such as : their expectations; the difficulties; the European Union potential answers; the information that could be provided to China; European Union strategies; meetings calendar; bilateral suggested points (information campaign; co-operation; repatriation, illegal documents, potential exchanges between the police administrations…).

b) The creation of a bilateral board of co-ordination "EU-China Co-ordination Board" which would struggle together against illegal migration, false document issuing, unlawful use of legal documents and human being traffic. This "EU - China" board of co-ordination would consist of both representatives and experts from the European Union and Chinese national and provincial authorities. In spite of the current difficulty to undertake an information campaign in China, this board of co-ordination would enable to maintain a consultation structure, which would work later on other aspects of the co-operation between China and the European Union. That board of co-ordination could call assemblies alternately in Brussels and in Beijing or in one of the Chinese key-provinces.

A consultation structure relatively complex is already existing both among the member states of European Union and Chinese authorities. The suggestion is not to create a complicated group nor a European Delegation and Chinese.

In order to obtain an added value to the structure already existing, the suggestion is to do a “simple and quickly” procedure with few delegates in charge in both parts:

European Union steering committee

1. 15 Delegate (one for each country)
2. 1 representing person in charge for " DG RELEX"
3. 1 representing person in charge for " DG JAI"

The action is the undertaking of these 17 Member States. Each Member State names a delegate who will be in charge for the works and attends to the meetings of the European Union Steering Committee.

4. Under the double safe guardianship of " DG RELEX"(Direction Générale des Relations Extérieures) and "DG JAI" (Direction Générale de la Justice et des Affaires Intérieures), such Committee Delegates will work together in order to gather the several points of view, several opinions, same strategies, documents and legislative rules through their representing in Brussels and/or in the different European Countries.

The European Union steering committee will negotiate and propose to China (EU-China Co-ordination Board ) to prepare a common strategy in order to satisfy Chinese expectations of cooperation against illegal migration, the false documents and the trafficking of human beings.

• EU-China Co-ordination Board

EU-China Co-ordination Board Committee will consist in

1. 17 members of 'European Union steering committee
2. 17 members which representing a Chinese Consultation Committee.

• Chinese Committee (Chinese Consultation Committee) will consist in

- 5 Delegates proposed by Chinese Minister of Foreign affairs
- 4 Delegates proposed by Chine Minister of Public Security
- 8 Delegates proposed by the 4 Chinese provinces (2 representing persons for each province)

The added value and the advantage of this solution are evident: it allows to the Representing Committees to meet each other quickly and together in order to work in cooperation against the illegal migration, the using of false documents and the trafficking of human beings. Once that the two Committee have held the first meetings will work quicker than before and in a simpler way (least formal) before the organisation of the high level summit between China and European Union. Such approach will allow to safe time in the negotiating procedures.

4. Sustainability of the information campaign result

It is not possible to expect the medium long-term durability effect of the information campaign against illegal migration, the using of false documents and the trafficking of human beings, if these campaigns are managed in China by the European Union.

At the end of the cooperation process "EU-China" will produce only short term results, few months, which could be considered as a positive element, although very unsatisfactory in the future.

The Chinese policy for migration consists essentially in an official approach management of the responsible of the provinces interested in the information campaign. The fight against the illegal activities and migration is real and periodical but remain responsibility of the provincial authorities.

Since the Chinese Authorities want to be independent, they will not be able (materially and politically) to preserve and pursue and the process and also to extend its field of application in absence of the European Union support.

The causes of this no capability are due to the countrywide extension, to economic and political rivalry, and to the rivalry among the responsible of the provinces and to the great importance of the relevant population.

In other words, if we assist to a positive results of the information campaign the process launched by the European Commission will not be able to live on without EC support.

In order that this sustainability could have effects and allow that the continuity of the information campaign, EU CHINA it should take that Chinese authorities be employed in a contractual and bilateral form with EC to extend these kind of campaign. Such employing, up to today, seems to us not possible (on diplomatic and practical level). China have always considered that the illegal migration towards Europe, is caused by the European laxism.

Furthermore, Chinese domestic policy, which is one of a “giant” does not tolerate to accept external orientation and message lay down destined to the population.

The Chinese domestic policy do not accept interferences in its internal affairs although efforts have been made and in their official statements it seems they are going to meet western policy in more fields (fight against the illegal migration, human rights, etc).

At the light of the above mentioned, the effect will be short term. China will not observe these new directives, nor will be employed, but will have a diplomatic benefit, without pursue the began process.

5. Information campaign already implemented by the Chinese authorities

China has laws prohibiting people from leaving the country illegally as well as stiff laws against corruption and forged documents. Chinese government officials are starting to take a serious look at the migration issue. But it's a difficult balance for them, because expatriate Chinese who reside around the world send a large amount of money to China every year. It definitely helps the economy.

With more than a billion people to contend with and unemployment a problem, China has in the past encouraged migration to other parts of the world. So the attitude in China is that migration is helpful in some ways. Yet Chinese officials recognize that illegal migration contributes to corruption and fraud problems within China. The biggest problem is that Chinese nationals who leave the PRC often find themselves in pretty desperate situations.

The Chinese government has cooperated with other partners, on a number of illegal smuggling cases. The simple fact that the Chinese government allows the extradition to go forward is a good example of their willingness to cooperate.

Chinese authorities have also successfully interdicted several vessels attempting to leave China illegally.

China announced a four-point program to discourage illegal emigration, including education, increased police patrols, severe punishment for smugglers, and more jobs for young people. In Changle, China has begun to announce the capture of migrants leaving for North America, reporting that several hundred were detained as they tried to leave coastal fishing villages, presumably to link up with smuggling ships.

Chinese information campaigns at a national level and in the four key-provinces

The Chinese authorities had been carrying out important information campaigns at a national level and in the four key-provinces : Liaoning, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, territories mainly concerned by the illegal migration, false document issuing and human being traffic.

The Chinese authorities are satisfied with the results. Further to the different meetings and consultations with the Chinese government authorities, it seems obvious that they have been undertaking an arsenal of efforts and measures to dissuade Chinese people from all attempts of illegal migration through :

1. TV
2. radio advertising
3. broadcasting
4. posters
5. law reinforcement

The messages broadcast and spread by the Chinese authorities seem repressive through warnings, sanctions and threats.

Yet, the potential or concerned migrants seem to be indifferent and sceptical. Moreover those messages are addressed to everybody whereas the potential migrants involved are from different social statuses and backgrounds according to which adequate messages should be brought and adjusted campaigns should be conducted in each province: " Attack the "snakehead", destroy the snake pits, punish the illegal immigration"; "Anyone participating in illegal immigration must be stringently punished according to the laws"; "It is a shame to immigrate illegally, but an honour to get rich through hard work.

In order to lead its population to a public awareness of the miscellaneous dangers of illegal migration, the Chinese government officials undertook three fundamental preventive measures which are the following: the first one was to call upon a public meeting at which the dangers of illegal emigration would be stated and explained; the second one consisted in condemning and criticising illegal emigration by denouncing the repatriates from abroad; the third and the last one was to increase coastal and border patrols in order to break up the gangs and the traffickers' networks organising human being traffic and to arrest the "Snakeheads" for detention, confinement and even execution.

The Chinese national and provincial authorities asserted that they were relatively satisfied by the results of the information campaigns, various controls and preventive measures because of the sensitive dropping in the number of illegal migrants. They also wish to pursue their efforts.

If we have elements about information campaigns implemented by the chinese authorities, a detailed identification of the information campaigns lead in China can not be feasible without the authorisation and agreement of China's Central Government. It seems important to underline that the central government exercises efficient and permanent control over the whole security system, all the local authorities and the whole country. Authorities in Beijing attempt to stop illegal migration, and are preoccupied by the reputation because of the illegal migration of Chinese people, false document issuing, human being traffics and other unlawful practices.

The Fujian authorities claim to have made huge strides in clamping down on the snakeheads.

They are unwilling to take all the blame for the problem of illegal immigration, claiming that more relaxed borders across the EU are not helping. They also say the majority of the snakehead gang leaders are not based in China, but operate from abroad.

Lin Jing Guo is the secretary of the Communist Party in Zhangang town on the outskirts of Changle City: Many tough measures have been taken to stamp out snakeheads, he says. "We are educating people and are trying to impress on them that snakeheads are illegal and bad."

In the area of Zhangang

In the area of Zhangang towards the tiny fishing village of Baihu, one can see slogans on walls and buildings urging people to "attack the snakeheads".

This is part of the government information campaign against the traffickers. Along the route, big houses stand out among the more humble, run-down buildings.

Baihu is home to about 50 fishing families. It overlooks the Taiwan Strait, facing North America, the land of hope for millions of Chinese. There was a time when some fishing boats were used to bring illegal immigrants to bigger ships, which then transported them abroad.

There are tight restrictions on the fishermen coming to and from Baihu.

Lin Jing Guo explains they must register before they leave and say how many people they have on board. And they must also register on their return to port.

The village consists of one row of dilapidated houses, a small harbour and the fisheries office. Three men sitting on a wall overlooking the sea are among a group of locals paid 30 yuan (about $3.60) a day to patrol the beaches to ensure no illegal immigrant activity is going on. The patrols are among the new measures introduced to curb snakeheads.

It is hard to find anyone who will defend snakeheads.

Fisherman Ke Feiyun says that while life on the boats is tough, he does not think illegal immigration is the answer. He says he is against snakeheads. "They are taking money from people and promising them great things. We are doing all right here."

The deputy mayor of Changle, Zhang Xing Kui, says the city has established an anti-snakehead working group. Rewards of between 2,000 yuan and 10,000 yuan ($240 and $1,204) are offered to anyone with information leading to the arrest of snakeheads.

He says the Dover case made people very angry. "They feel exploited and cheated. They want strong punishment for those responsible."

The city is concentrating on improving the quality of life for people and attracting more investment, so they won't feel the need to emigrate, he adds.

The gangs who organise illegal immigration from China have now set their sights on Western Europe, following a clampdown in the last 18 months in Canada and the US.

It is much harder to control the land and air routes to Europe than to North America. Hong Kong airport - with 30 million people passing through it every year - is a favoured hub.

Forged British National Overseas passports are often used, offering visafree access to 80 countries from the former colony.

Police say the main overland smuggling routes are through Russia and into Western Europe via Hungary or the Czech Republic. Between seven and 10 gangs are estimated to control the trade from China to Britain.

Ying Chang, a professor in journalism at Hong Kong University and an expert on illegal immigration, tells The Irish Times that while the Dover tragedy did help focus world attention on human trafficking, nothing short of a concerted international effort will bring about an improvement.

The reality is that in developed countries, including the Republic, there is a huge demand for cheap labour and often this is filled through illegal immigrants.

The Guangdong police in 2000 : campaign - operation FOX

Last year, the Guangdong police have arrested many hundreds of suspects linked to secret criminal societies, illegal migration and seized caches of weapons and drugs in a month-long joint action in 11 cities in the Pearl River Delta. The suspects include 46 from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

The action has dealt a heavy blow to secret societies active in the southern Chinese region. Police have detained a total of 849 suspects linked to 39 criminal cases which involved secret societies from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. The wave of arrests in Guangdong have taken place in a major police campaign, Operation Fox, launched in mid-November.

Seven of those arrested had been on the police wanted lists of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, said Zheng Shaodong, deputy director-general of Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security on Saturday. He said this at a press conference in the provincial capital.

Operation Fox will continue throughout this year as the police aim to crack down on illegal activities of secret societies and organized criminals throughout the region. The move will ensure a good and stable social order for the first anniversary celebration of Macao's return to the motherland.

The campaign also shows that Guangdong and other provinces and regions on the mainland were not havens for criminals from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Guangdong police have never relaxed their vigilance in fighting secret societies and, organized and cross border crimes in recent years : "According to Chinese laws, the mainland authorities will have every right to detain, arrest, try and punish those who had involvement in any crimes on the mainland." Guangdong police have the ability and capacity to ensure stable social order to help economic growth". The police promised to further co-operate with his Hong Kong and Macao counterparts to fight cross-border crimes and organized gangs in the years ahead.

The number of secret society activities and organized criminals has declined thanks to the joint efforts of police in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao since the beginning of the year.

But criminal activities organized by secret societies and gangs still take place in this prosperous southern Chinese province, threatening its social order and threatening the economy from flourishing.

These criminal activities have included operating secret private banks, cross-border drug-trafficking, gambling in Hong Kong's horse racing and its lottery, organized illegal immigration, robbery, loan sharking, kidnapping and prostitution.

Investigation : Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Public Security

Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Public Security cracked down on a secret private bank in the city's Rongtailu on December 1, 1999. The bank mainly engaged in exchanges of foreign currencies for Taiwan investors who have established projects on the mainland.

In previous years, Guangdong police have worked well to crack down on cross-border crimes and gangs.

The co-operation between Guangdong and Hong Kong in fighting cross-border crimes began as early as 1981.
Both sides have now established a special liaison officer system and a 24-hour hotline to strengthen bonds.

Senior police officers from Guangdong are still discussing this year how to work even more to fight against crime, illegal migration, and human being traffic.

East China city wages war against human trafficking

In may 2001, Police in the capital of east China's Fujian province have announced an all-out fight against human trafficking through the end of this year.

A spokesman for the Fuzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau said they will improve their supervision over fishing ships, wharves, ports in coastal areas under the jurisdiction of the capital city.

Each of the fishing ships, wharves, fishermen is being monitored to prevent people smuggling, said the spokesman.
Police patrols in those areas and public places will be beefed up for people suspected of possible illegal immigration, said the spokesman.

The coastal province of Fujian has been one of the major sources of illegal immigrants to other countries or regions.

Fujian police : 160 "Snake Heads" in five months

In 2001, the border police in the Eastern coastal province of Fujian have arrested 160 "snake heads", a nickname for criminals who organize and transport illegal immigrants out of China, in the past five months.

The police investigated 18 cases in the period, and detained 90 illegal immigrants, effectively checking the trend of group illegal immigration.

A police spokesman said targeting "snake heads" is a key measure to obstruct illegal immigration. The enhanced crackdown campaign has force over 20 fugitive "snake heads" to surrender to the police, according to the spokesman.
The police department has decided to continue its efforts in this regard through to the end of February, sources said.

Campaign against Chinese people smuggling

China has announced this year a new campaign to try to combat the increasing problem of human trafficking.

A senior police official told the state news agency that snakeheads -- gang bosses who specialise in smuggling people out of the country for high fees -- would be given harsh penalties.

Border guards are being told to make the campaign a priority, and efforts are being concentrated in five coastal areas.
Australia and the United States are the most popular destinations for illegal immigrants.
Australia has just announced new measures for dealing with illegal immigration, following a big increase in the number of people caught trying to get into the country illegally -- including boatpeople.


6. Policies of other main partner of China : the United States, Canada and Australia

Chinese legal and illegal migration and the United States

Each year, thousands of Chinese pay criminals known as "snakeheads" tens of thousands of dollars for a chance to illegally enter the United States and make their "fortunes." They endure long, difficult voyages, months in hiding, beatings at the hands of snakehead "enforcers." When they get to the United States, they find themselves trapped by debt and their illegal status.
In the united Sates : Where Do Most Chinese Illegal Aliens Originate?

Due to a variety of cultural and geographic factors, the majority of Chinese illegal aliens originate from just a few places in China. The region along the east coast of China is a source of extensive illegal immigration to the United States. In the past, most emigrants came from Guangdong Province, but today most come from Fujian Province or Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province. In each sending area there is both ready access to ports of departure and enough prosperity to make travel to the United States economically viable.

Chinese migration in the United States from Fujian Province or Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province.

Guangdong Province

Before World War II, 90 percent of the Chinese immigrants who reached the United States came from an area the size of Rhode Island (1,231 square miles or about 3,150 square kilometers) in China's Guangdong Province1. Toishan County sent so many immigrants to New York City's Chinatown that until the 1960's fluency in the Toishanese dialect was required of the Chinese consulate in New York2. People from Toishan and the other areas around Guangdong's capital Guangzhou (Canton) were separated from China's central authority by thousands of miles and differences in the spoken language, but they were close to large seaports, including Hong Kong. Geographic and cultural isolation coupled with access to departure routes provided early migrants some impetus to leave. Political unrest and lack of economic opportunity were also motivating factors. As established Chinese boasting of American wealth or suffering from loneliness encouraged their family members and neighbors to follow them across the ocean by any possible means, the United States saw a large influx of immigrants from a small area of China.

Fujian Province

Today, the majority of emigrants departing for destinations around the globe originate in an area the size of Delaware (2,396 square miles or about 6,133 square kilometers) in China's Fujian (Fukien) Province3. The current situation in Fujian parallels the nineteenth century migration from its neighboring province Guangdong. The mountainous region of Fujian lies north of Guangdong and across the Taiwan Strait from Taiwan. The Communists were careful to place state industries out of the reach of Taiwan 4, and as a result Fujian became a leader in economic liberalization. The placement of export industries into coastal areas also contributed to a successful Fujianese economy. Fujian supplements light industry with natural resources such as coal, iron, limestone, hydroelectricity, forestry and fishing and traditional crops such as rice, sugar, tea and fruit5. Only Guangdong is considered richer.

Two distinct sub-cultures exist in Fujian. Different dialects are used in the area around the major ports of Fuzhou and Xiamen (Amoy). In Fuzhou, Fujian's capital a dialect of Chinese is spoken which is unintelligible not only to speakers of Mandarin and Cantonese, but also to speakers of Minanhua (Southern Min dialect), which is prevalent in Xiamen and Taiwan.

Fuzhou City

Fuzhou, the capital city of Fujian Province, has 1.5 million registered inhabitants and an estimated "floating population" of 250,0006. Substantial urbanization has been caused by the conversion of farmland around Fuzhou into industrial or special economic zones. Displaced workers from inland China also come into Fuzhou hoping for economic opportunity.

The people from the Fuzhou area have a long history of restless seafaring. The first Triad San Lian Hui originated near Fuzhou7. Criminal networks use contacts developed through historical smuggling of illegal goods to smuggle people out of China. Most of the illegal emigrants come from the counties around Fuzhou rather than from the city itself, apparently because the city's residents average higher levels of education and income than do the people from the surrounding area8, in places such as Changle, Lianjiang, and Fuqin.

Changle City

Changle City is located just southeast of Fuzhou. The registered population in Changle is 600,000 people9, but in some towns within Changle's jurisdiction, 50 to 85 percent of residents are reported to be in the United States10. The economies of many villages have been crippled by emigration. Among those who left Changle were the 58 illegal immigrants who suffocated to death in the back of a truck trying to get into Britain from the Netherlands in June 2000. The tragedy was publicized world-wide.

Lianjiang County

North of Fuzhou is Lianjiang County, which has a registered population of around 600,00011. Of the 19 towns in Lianjiang, Guantou and neighboring Tingjiang are the largest immigrant sources. An estimated 1.6 million Chinese people in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan were originally from Tingjiang.

Fuqin City

Fuqin City is composed of 21 towns and lies on the coast near Pingtan County, which has a reputation for sending illegal immigrants to nearby Taiwan. Fuqin has abundant factory work; nevertheless many residents leave to seek economic opportunity elsewhere13. Residents of Fuqin traditionally immigrated illegally to Japan, but following the Asian financial crisis, increasing numbers of people from Fuqin have tried to enter the United States illegally14.
Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province.

Residents of Wenzhou have immigrated to form large communities in Europe, especially in France, Italy and the Netherlands. The area has now become the second-largest Chinese source of illegal immigration to the United States15. In 1993, when 10 Chinese illegal immigrants drowned after the Golden Venture ran aground just outside New York Harbor, 40 of the 286 passengers who tried to swim ashore came from around Wenzhou16.

Wenzhou City is one of the largest cities in Zhejiang province. Though the province of Zhejiang is largely mountainous and isolated, it has a diverse economy. Zhejiang produces more tea than any other province and has a wide variety of manufactures, including paper, silk textiles, generators and large appliances17. As in Guangdong and Fujian, the economic success of Zhejiang seems to fuel rather than dampen emigration.

Conclusion

From Guangdong, Fujian and Wenzhou decades of illegal immigration to the United States have originated from the East Coast of China. Cantonese immigrants have been supplanted by the Fujianese as the dominant group in U.S. Chinatowns. In the future, large Wenzhounese communities may replace the Fujianese communities.

Human Smuggling Persists Despite Lenient U.S. Immigration Policies

Despite lenient U.S. immigration policies, smugglers are making big money transporting illegal aliens into the United States. Why? "It's all about greed," says James Chaparro, director of anti-smuggling at the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

Worldwide, human smuggling is a big business. While exact figures for this underground enterprise are impossible to pin down, estimates range anywhere from $4 billion to $14 billion per year, with $7 billion the most frequently cited figure, Chaparro told The Washington File in a recent interview. Informal estimates of illegal immigrants entering the United States run to as high as 40,000 per year, he said.

Chinese smugglers - or "snakeheads" - charge fees ranging anywhere from $35,000 to $60,000 per person, he said.
More money is to be made when migrants are sold from one smuggler to another in order to collect their transport fees, Chaparro said. With increasing frequency, rival smuggling gangs will steal migrants from each other, oftentimes at gunpoint, he said. In one case in Phoenix, Arizona, a gang attempt to steal illegal migrants ended in three deaths, including that of a 15-year-old boy, Chaparro said.

"We're seeing an escalation in violence in smuggling gangs," Chaparro said, not only between gangs but also against immigration agents. "It's not at all uncommon for U.S. agents along our borders to be shot at or assaulted with rocks and other weapons," he said.

U.S. Policy

"The United States has one of the most generous legal immigration policies of any industrialized country," Chaparro said. "The number of programs that allow people to come to the United States legally is huge."

According to INS statistics (The Triennial Comprehensive Report on Immigration or May 1999), an average of 830,000 foreign-born individuals were admitted to the United States for lawful permanent residence each year between 1992 and 1994. This figure is expected to grow to about 900,000 per year.

"The focus of the U.S. government's policy is that we want to encourage legal immigration while at the same time shutting the door to illegal immigration, because it's only through legal immigration that you can have faith in our nation's laws," Chaparro said.

The rule-of-law that helps make the United States such a prosperous nation and attractive place to live doesn't much help illegal aliens. They live in fear both from the smugglers to whom they owe money as well as U.S. authorities.
Alien smugglers, Chaparro said, "are ruthless and greedy. They will subject people to all sorts of dangerous conditions in order to circumvent the immigration laws and bring them to the United States."

Illegal migrants, he said, "are endangered from the moment they leave their homes until the moment they get to the United States."

Once in the United States, illegal aliens oftentimes are exploited and abused by the smugglers as well as their employers who know the migrants are too afraid to go to U.S. authorities, Chaparro said.
Illegal aliens, however, can get some help under U.S. laws, according to Chaparro. He noted that the S Visa (which allows for permanent U.S. residence) is available for people who cooperate with U.S. authorities in investigating certain types of crime committed in conjunction with human smuggling, such as extortion, hostage taking, and kidnapping for ransom.

"Some of the cases where we've seen S Visas granted aren't always for the 'kingpin' smugglers," he said. "It may be for a smuggler who was particularly dangerous or particularly brutal; and as such it's an important case," Chaparro said. He cautioned that only a few hundred S Visas have been authorized. "I don't want to put the word out that if you come forward that it's a guarantee that you're going to have a ticket to stay in the United States," he said. "These things are looked at very carefully."

U.S. laws prohibit the use of force or threats to make someone work -- especially in prostitution -- to pay off a debt. Those who are forced to work or held against their will can get help from the U.S. government by calling the National Worker Exploitation Complaint Line operated by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Labor. The toll-free number - 1-888-428-7581 - offers services in several languages, including Chinese.

Who are the Smugglers?

Human smuggling is a crime committed both by opportunistic "entrepreneurs" as well as more traditional organized crime groups, according to Chaparro.

"Clearly, there are organized criminal groups participating in alien smuggling of PRC (People's Republic of China) nationals," he said. "We see very well organized, very well connected, established Triads that are actively engaged in not only alien smuggling but other criminal activities - money laundering, prostitution, illegal gambling. These organizations will engage in a variety of illegal activities to make a profit."

"We also see 'crimes of opportunity,'" Chaparro said, involving, for example, business owners who bring in illegal aliens. "They may not be organized smugglers, but they see this as an opportunity to recruit some cheap labor to work in their company or their factory."

Some fraud facilitators - for example, those who produce counterfeit visas -- operate independently and not in an organized fashion to get illegal aliens into the United States, Chaparro said. Others are working in direct coordination with larger scale smuggling syndicates, he said.
Economic disparities among nations, dissatisfied populaces, and the huge profits will keep alien smugglers in business for the foreseeable future, Chaparro said.

"Smugglers are becoming more and more sophisticated," he said. It's not at all uncommon for us to see smugglers using e-mail and encrypted cell phones and GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation equipment as they're walking through the desert. And the reason they can do this is because the profits are so high."

Human Smuggling and U.S. Laws

As more public attention is being focused on the crimes involved with human smuggling, legislators will be under more pressure to target the most serious offenders, Chaparro predicts.

The U.S. Congress provided law enforcement with a powerful tool in 1996 by making alien smuggling a RICO offense, Chaparro pointed out.

(RICO -- Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act -- is a federal statute originally enacted in 1970 to control organized crime. In the early 1990s, the law was expanded to target non-traditional organized crime groups.)
"RICO is tremendous not only for prosecuting the illegal criminal enterprise but also for going after assets that are derived as a result of that criminal activity," Chaparro said.

"Congress gave us the ability to conduct wire taps - Title 3 Wire Intercepts - which has been for us a powerful tool in really getting at the high-level smuggling organizations," he added.

Congress has also granted law enforcement the authority to conduct proprietary investigations, Chaparro said.
"For example, we had a recent case - in the 'Houston Operation Night Riders' - where we (law enforcement personnel) posed as a load house or a drop house operator and we actually had smugglers bringing people to us. We had numerous successful prosecutions develop out of that case at a fairly high level."

In addition, mandatory minimum sentences have been established for smuggling for financial gain or through areas other than ports of entry, he said.

Heavier penalties are being assigned to alien smuggling crimes, Chaparro said.
"Just yesterday we had a person in Los Angeles (California) who was sentenced to life in prison for alien smuggling," he said. " We had a Houston (Texas) case where a person who was involved in alien smuggling/hostage-taking was sentenced to 27 years on prison."

A smuggling-related incident in Phoenix, Arizona resulted in five perpetrators being sentenced to six consecutive life terms in prison, he said. "So we have seen some very significant sentences."

Chaparro acknowledged that penalties for alien smuggling are not, on average, as stiff as those for drug trafficking. "But for the smugglers who are engaged in the large-scale organizations, there can be very serious consequences," he said. "And if there's danger involved for the migrants, or death or injury of migrants, the sentencing enhancements that go along with that type of criminal conduct can be tremendous."

The International Response

While the United States is a major destination country for illegal immigrants, Western Europe, Japan, Australia and other nations are experiencing large influxes of undocumented migrants as well. "It is truly a global problem," Chaparro said.

To deal with this growing surge of illegal migrants, the United States and 78 other countries signed the United Nations Protocol Against Smuggling Migrants in December 2000 in Palermo, Italy. The protocol will go into effect when 40 of these countries have ratified it.

"The simple fact that this issue has been put on the 'front burner' in such a high-profile environment has really made a lot of countries take a more serious look at alien smuggling and illegal migration," Chaparro said.

"For example, the disrupt operation we just completed in Central and Latin America - 'Operation Crossroads International.' We had 13 Central American and Caribbean countries participating in a very concentrated effort to combat illegal migration in those countries for aliens destined to the United States," Chaparro said.

"In just a two-and-a-half week period, there were 38 smugglers arrested and approximately 7,900 migrants who were interdicted trying to transit to the United States and subsequently repatriated to their home countries.

"So the fact that these governments participated in such a large-scale operation really shows their commitment to controlling illegal migrations," he said. Nonetheless, laws vary greatly towards illegal migration in various countries.

China, for example, has laws prohibiting people from leaving the country illegally as well as stiff laws against corruption and forged documents, Chaparro said.

Chinese government officials, he said, are starting to take a serious look at the migration issue. "But it's a difficult balance for them, I think, policy wise, because expatriate Chinese who reside around the world send a large amount of money to China every year," he said. "It definitely helps the economy."

With more than a billion people to contend with and unemployment a problem, China has in the past encouraged migration to other parts of the world, Chaparro said. So the attitude in China, he said, is that migration is helpful in some ways.

Yet Chinese officials recognize that illegal migration contributes to corruption and fraud problems within China. "The biggest problem is that Chinese nationals who leave the PRC often find themselves in pretty desperate situations," he said.
The Chinese government has cooperated with the United States, he said, on a number of illegal smuggling cases - most notably that of the notorious Cheng Chui-ping, or "Big Sister Ping."

Cheng ran a sophisticated operation that moved as many as 3,000 illegal Chinese aliens to the United States. She was arrested in April 2000 in Hong Kong after a worldwide hunt led by U.S. law enforcement. Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa recently signed her extradition orders to the United States. If convicted of federal racketeering charges, Cheng could face life imprisonment without parole.

"The simple fact that the Chinese government allowed the extradition to go forward is a good example of their willingness to cooperate with us, especially on such a high profile case," Chaparro said.

Chinese authorities have also successfully interdicted several vessels attempting to leave China illegally, he noted.

"As with any country, there is always room for some improvement," Chaparro said. "We would like to see closer cooperation on law enforcement issues and sharing of intelligence on smuggling organizations. But I think they've come a long way in the last several years."

Economically vibrant Taiwan is an important transit country and -- to a smaller extent -- source country for illegal migrants, Chaparro said. There the major problem is fraudulent Taiwanese passports that are provided to illegal PRC migrants, he said.

Taiwanese officials, Chaparro said, have been willing to cooperate with American law enforcement on a number of illegal migration issues, especially those involving "hijacked" Taiwanese fishing trawlers that smuggle aliens to Guam.

Thailand - both a major source and transit country for illegal migrants - has been especially willing to cooperate with U.S. law enforcement officials, according to Chaparro.

"They have a very large counterfeit document trade in Thailand," Chaparro said. "We've had some tremendous successes with the Royal Thai Police on going after these organizations and seizing literally thousands and thousands of fraudulent passports for people who had been destined for the United States."
Chaparro acknowledged that there is a fair amount of sympathy for illegal migrants, both in the United States and in other countries. "These people are oftentimes in dire straits in their countries," he said.

"You can't blame a lot of these people for wanting to come to the United States. There is tremendous economic opportunity here. Unfortunately, they are often sold a false bill of goods by the people who recruit them."

The major issue, Chaparro said, is the smuggling operations that prey on the desperation of the migrants. "That really has to be the focus of the majority of our law enforcement efforts, because the smugglers really put these people at great risk," he said.

State Department Programs to Combat Trafficking in Persons

In December 1993, the Secretary of State expanded the mandate of the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) to formulate policy and coordinate inter-agency programs designed to combat international organized crime and strengthen criminal justice institutions in emerging democracies.

Since 1996, as part of its anti-crime program, the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs has funded over $9 million in programs listed below to address trafficking and violence against women and children. INL's programs are conducted by U.S. non-governmental organizations (NGOs) through grants, federal law enforcement agencies, and international organizations. This year, for the first time, we are asking numerous embassies and consulates to work with local NGOs and government ministries to develop proposals for INL consideration.

Global Programs

UN Protocol on Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. Last December in Palermo, Italy, over 120 nations gathered to sign the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its two supplementary protocols on trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling. Eighty-one countries signed the Trafficking Protocol. More countries are expected to sign the protocol pending approval from their respective parliaments.
In April 1998, at the UN Commission for Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, member states adopted an INL-drafted resolution on trafficking in women and children. The INL Bureau has had the lead over the last two years in negotiating this protocol for the United States. The trafficking protocol, for the first time in history, defines "trafficking in persons." This protocol provides a framework for countries to do the following: criminalize trafficking; provide victim protection and assistance in appropriate cases; provide victim rehabilitation; address the status of the victim in the receiving state; return trafficking victims without delay; implement law enforcement measures against the traffickers; strengthen border controls; provide security of travel documents; verify validity of documents; and prevent trafficking through public information campaigns. The next step for the signatory countries is to ratify and implement these instruments.

The Protection Project. Dr. Laura Lederer, with Johns Hopkins University, has developed an interactive database on U.S. and international legislation protecting women and children from commercial sexual exploitation. The database includes a comparative analysis of laws and penalties, situation reports on each country, maps, case studies, and victim testimonials. This database is available on web at www.protectionproject.org.

"Be Smart Be Safe" Brochure. This brochure, targeted to potential victims, describes the tactics criminal groups use to coerce and traffic women, the risks of trafficking, what women can do to protect themselves against illegitimate groups, what are victims' rights in the U.S., and how women can get help while in the United States. The brochure has recently been distributed to 27 U.S. embassies in 24 different languages. Plans are underway to disseminate the brochure to more U.S. embassies. The brochure is available online at http:/usinfo.state.gov/traffic/besmart.htm.

Federal Law Enforcement Training. INL funded four federal law enforcement agencies to conduct specialized training to combat violence against women and children in Russia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Tajikistan, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Ghana, Namibia, South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Zambia, Swaziland, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Panama.

Conference to Combat Child Pornography on the Internet. The U.S., the European Union, and Austria co-sponsored an international conference to combat child pornography on the internet September 29-October 1, 1999, in Vienna, Austria. INL provided some funding for the conference. The conference objectives were as follows: 1) reinforce cooperation between law enforcement and the judiciary; 2) encourage Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to establish self-regulatory mechanisms; and 3) encourage the establishment of further hotlines and networking.

More Nations Cooperate to Fight Alien Smuggling, Trafficking. More nations are recognizing the problem of alien smuggling and joining together to combat it, says Jim Puleo, director of the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

"There has been, I think, more enlightenment about the problem in both the transit and sending countries," he said in a recent interview with The Washington File.

"It's ironic how many countries just a few years ago did not criminalize the act of smuggling, and so it was difficult for us to ask them to do something about the problem when they didn't have the statutory ability to do so," he said.

"About four or five years ago, only one country in Central America had laws against smuggling. Now everybody has a law against smuggling except for one country -- Costa Rica."

"Currently there are no international treaties or agreements to deal with smuggling," Puleo said. "There are on slavery, on prostitution, but they don't specify smuggling or trafficking."

There are, however, discussions within the United Nations Crime Commission to establish protocols to deal with smuggling and trafficking and to distinguish between the two.

"The easiest way to explain the difference between smuggling and trafficking is to consider two concentric circles," Puleo said. "Everybody is smuggled. But there are part of those who are smuggled that are trafficked -- what distinguishes one from the other is the deception, the coercion, the kidnapping, the force....
"If you look at smuggled migrants, usually they come to the border and then are released. They pay for the privilege. They ask to be smuggled into a country."

Trafficked immigrants, on the other hand, find themselves unable to escape the control of the people who brought them into the country illegally, Puleo explained. For example, criminals promising jobs as dancers frequently lure Eastern European women to the United States. When the women get to their destinations, they find themselves forced into prostitution. They are kept in permanent bondage.

Puleo acknowledged that making the distinctions between illegal immigrants who are smuggled versus those who are trafficked is difficult. But establishing the definitions is important, he said, because there are certain benefits that would accrue under a United Nations trafficking protocol that would not under the smuggling protocols now under consideration.

Whether smuggled or trafficked into the United States, the illegal immigrant has broken immigration law, Puleo emphasized. These immigrants will be deported when discovered. But if they become smugglers or traffickers themselves, or aid smuggling ventures, the immigrants are subject to U.S. criminal statutes.
Currently, U.S. immigration laws impose on smugglers a 10-year-prison sentence for each immigrant smuggled. In practice, however, smugglers receive sentences of 24 to 68 months and then are deported, Puleo said.

According to Puleo, the Chinese government has been "very helpful" in combating the snakeheads attempting to smuggle immigrants into the United States. China has a coastal patrol, but no ocean-going navy, which limits their capacity to catch smuggling ships, he noted. Nonetheless, China has intercepted a number of these vessels and put smugglers in jail, Puleo said.

Puleo emphasized that the United States will not abate its efforts to intercept and repatriate immigrants attempting to enter the United States illegally. "There is a legitimate way of coming into the county, and they (immigrants) should use the 'front door' instead of the 'back door,'" he said.

Chinese Migrant Smuggling: an Opportunity for U.S.-China Cooperation

The conscience of the international community is drawn to the issue of worldwide smuggling of Chinese citizens when illegal immigrants are found to be living in "safe houses," working in sweatshops or even drowning within sight of the Statue of Liberty. Smuggling is a strain on relations between China and the United States because they are the major sending and receiving countries of these illegal migrants. The United States and China could undertake initiatives that are grounded in a comprehensive understanding of the scope and factors of smuggling and in a spirit of cooperation to reduce this problem.

The annual business of human trafficking, with its links to criminal activity and underground economies, is reported to be valued at $5 billion to $7 billion. There are no accurate data reflecting the number of illegal Chinese immigrants. Chinese sources state that in the early 1990s an estimated 500,000 illegal Chinese were living temporarily in Russia, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America with the intention of settling in the United States, Australia or Western Europe.

There is a theory that "push" and "pull" factors provide the impetus for international migration flows. The push factors originate in the country from which citizens emigrate and may include economic deprivation, unemployment and population policies. The pull factors of the receiving countries are higher incomes, employment prospects and policies allowing the possibility of work and citizenship. The push factors in China and the pull factors in the United States interact to create opportunities for smugglers to fulfill a demand.

The irony of economic growth is that this development in China has created push factors. Although economic reforms have improved living standards in some areas, they have also created greater awareness of better conditions elsewhere and have fueled the desire to undertake risks to go abroad illegally. China’s income differentials, population growth, governmental corruption and increasing unemployment are factors that contribute toward illegal immigration. Economic reforms have led to uneven growth and have unleashed at least 20 million workers from government-owned industries into the pool of unemployed labor. Migrants are vulnerable to exploitation by smugglers who attract people with promises of jobs. Economic inequities, the feeling of relative deprivation and the west’s capacity to absorb cheap labor lure the Chinese abroad and inhibit attempts to decrease or end smuggling.

Government corruption and collusion with smuggling triads in China and in transit areas, especially in Taiwan and Guatemala, frustrate attempts at solutions. Government collusion in China is not an unfounded fear; China’s Minister of Public Security Tao Siju has admitted that the police have had contact with triad organizations.

The Chinese military also is reportedly involved in smuggling and profits from it. China’s government at the local level houses corruption and has even less incentive to act against the trend because Chinese who leave help their hometowns by sending money to family members and local charities. Central American countries that rely on Taiwanese government aid have become strategic locations for the smuggling operations of Taiwanese triads and remain the Achilles’ heel of U.S. border control. The United States has experienced corruption also; in July 1996, an Immigration and Naturalization Service agent carrying fraudulent documents with the intention of delivering them to illegal immigrants was arrested in Hong Kong.

The Chinese government’s main interest in maintaining stability and peace pervades its actions and there are few internal forces that encourage the government to prevent smuggling. The emigration flow may in fact lessen pressures on the Chinese government by reducing unemployment and creating the possibility that emigrants might become successful and invest in China. The ability of the Chinese government to meet social needs, especially employment, is crucial to maintaining its legitimacy in the eyes of its citizens.

Since economic growth will be the most significant factor in easing the problem of smuggling, the most valuable contribution the United States can make toward reducing the push factors of migration is the encouragement of trade and more economic reforms in China. Permanent normal trade relations, which de-links international trade and domestic issues, will promote a stable trade environment that will increase Chinese citizens’ access to opportunities, information and products. China should proceed with economic reforms despite the temporary economic and social dislocations and remain involved internationally. Engaging China in the international arena will lead the Chinese government to improve aspects of its system that are now causing people to flee. The Chinese government’s willingness to act according to international standards is evidenced by its implementation of economic reforms upon recommendation by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund since the 1980s.

The United States should employ its leverage to encourage the international community to combat smuggling through new legal and financial approaches. The European Union has already developed an international police force to combat smuggling; other regions could adopt a similar strategy. The international community should enter multilateral agreements to provide for increased vigilance and enforcement because the existence of lenient laws and the prospects for high profits are reasons why smugglers prefer to deal in people rather than drugs or consumer goods. For instance, although Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama recently declared human smuggling a crime, smuggling rings continue to operate there without the risk of punishment.

International financial assistance programs that work at the grass-roots level to improve social stability, employment and infrastructure development would help reduce the push factors. The United States should gather international support for assistance programs that contribute to all levels of society in China, from agricultural development to professional training. The United States should reconsider its own economic policy toward China and offer assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The pull factors of international migration provide opportunities for both China and the United States to coordinate efforts to end smuggling. In China, reports from the large overseas Chinese community and imported movies contribute to the common perception is that life is better in the United States. The sense of relative deprivation in China is confirmed when Chinese who have succeeded abroad invest in their hometowns by building new homes and ancestor graves. American and Chinese officials could launch an information campaign to limit the attraction of emigration. For example, they could provide immigration officials, especially those in coastal China, with realistic information about the hardships of illegal immigrants. The grounding of the Golden Venture near New York City in 1993 and the fates of those who drowned or were detained for years provide a morbid example of the risks of illegal immigration.

Greater American immigration vigilance at sea since the Golden Venture incident has resulted in increased Chinese migration to Europe and the use of airplanes as a means of transport instead of ships. Consistent training of customs and immigration officials would be beneficial to all countries. The international community could work together by training immigration officials to guard against the use of false documents at airports.

The American policies of citizenship and asylum are additional pull factors. China has urged the United States to end asylum rules. After 1990, when President Bush ordered "enhanced consideration" of asylum requests by people escaping forced sterilization or abortion, the number of illegal Chinese entering the United States increased. Since President Clinton’s endorsement of a plan against smuggling in 1993, asylum requests based on population policies have been mostly rejected. The United States could enact laws that would continue the tradition of asylum rules but promptly return economic migrants who are not seeking refuge from persecution and impose higher penalties for those who succeed in entering illegally again.

Human smuggling requires international efforts led by the United States to share immigration and legal information and to provide financial assistance for China’s development. The destabilizing forces that create the smuggling market will persist along with uncertainty about how China will manage its large-scale problems. Recent developments such as PNTR provide hope for improved societal and economic conditions within China. The United States and China should continue to engage in the international trade arena in ways that will enable the Chinese to realize their productive capabilities within China’s developing economic system.

• Chinese legal and illegal migration and Canada

Some 36 Chinese migrants were found in a cargo container in Vancouver in April 2001; 35 applied for asylum.

In the summer of 1999, some 600 Chinese migrants landed on Canada's west coast after crossing the Pacific in several ships. As of April 2001, some 340 had been returned and 24 had been granted refugee status- the others are in detention, awaiting court hearings or have been released into the community pending further action.

In an interview, one of the Chinese who received refugee status described the trip. He said he paid $2,500 upfront and promised to pay another $30,000 after he reached Canada. He said that many Chinese want to live a country with freedom and human rights and that they are concerned about the Chinese government's continued crackdown on religious groups.

Canada : Summit of the Americas on April 22 and 23, 2001 in Quebec City,

Canada, host of the 2001 Summit of the Americas on April 22 and 23, 2001 in Quebec City, released a report showing how Canada responded to previous SOA commitments (www.summit-americas.org/). Previous Summits of the Americas were held in 1998 in Santiago, 1996 in Santa Cruz, and 1994 in Miami.

The Final Declaration states:

"We recognise the cultural and economic contributions made by migrants to receiving societies as well as to their communities of origin. We are committed to ensuring dignified, humane treatment with appropriate legal protections, defence of human rights, and safe and healthy labour conditions for migrants. We will strengthen mechanisms for hemispheric co-operation to address the legitimate needs of migrants and take effective measures against trafficking in human beings."

The Plan of Action approved at the SOA commits governments to:

1. Strengthen co-operation among states to address, with a comprehensive, objective and long-term focus, the manifestations, origins and effects of migration in the region;

2. Promote recognition of the value of close co-operation among countries of origin, transit and destination in order to ensure protection of the human rights of migrants;

3. Establish an inter-American program within the OAS for the promotion and protection of the human rights of migrants, including migrant workers and their families, taking into account the activities of the IACHR and supporting the work of the IACHR Special Rapporteur on Migrant Workers and the UN Special Rapporteur on Migration;

4. Commit to undertake the widest possible co-operation and exchange of information among states concerning illegal trafficking networks, including developing preventative campaigns on the dangers and risks faced by migrants, particularly women and children who often can be victims of such trafficking, with a view to eradicating this crime;

5. Establish linkages with subregional processes, such as the Regional Conference on Migration and the South American Conference on Migration, which are dialogue fora, in order to exchange information on the migration phenomenon, as well as promote co-operation with specialised international organisations, such as the International Organisation of Migration (IOM), in order to advance and co-ordinate implementation efforts of Summit mandates.

The 1998 SOA in Santiago committed Western Hemisphere leaders to 27 goals- number five was protecting the rights of migrant workers and preventing discrimination against migrants and their families. Canada cited its multiculturalism policy, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and noted that the CBC and others have sought to promote the cause of immigrants.

Canada: Chinese Migrants

Between July and September, 1999, Canadian authorities intercepted four ships each with more than 100 Chinese migrants being smuggled into Canada. Many of them planned to apply for asylum in Canada and then enter the US. US intelligence is supplying some of the information about the location of ships suspected of smuggling immigrants: U.S. Coast Guard ships have intercepted 20 ships carrying undocumented Chinese in U.S. territorial waters around Guam in the past 16 months. Australia intercepted 21 boatloads of illegal migrants, primarily Chinese, in the last six months.

The arrival of the Chinese started a national debate and aroused some hostility—one of the boats was met on a dock in Port Hardy by demonstrators shouting "Send them home!" Canadian authorities were urged by local residents, as well as by the Chinese government, to return the Chinese quickly to China; the Chinese government agreed to accept their return as soon as Canada proved they were Chinese. The Chinese government said that there is "no such thing as political persecution in China," and predicted that if Canada grants asylum to some of the Chinese, more Chinese would try to emigrate.

China's Premier Jiang Zemlin claimed that Canada's lengthy asylum application processes were encouraging Chinese to be smuggled into Canada. According to reports, small Pacific island countries such as Tonga and Nauru are selling passports to Chinese that are then used to try to enter Canada and other countries. Officials of China and Canada in Spring 1999 signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly fight criminal activity, which Canada says would allow it to send police to China to monitor people-smuggling activities there.

Chinese smugglers--called snakeheads for the way they place migrants curled up like snakes under the deck in smuggling ships--recruit migrants in south-eastern China, especially Fujian. In recent months, migrants and their relatives have been paying US$35,000 for passage to the US via Canada, with several thousand dollars paid up front, and the balance due on delivery in the US. After recruiting migrants, snakeheads arrange their transport in ships, coach them on how to apply for political asylum on arriving in Canada and then arrange for them to go to the US.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have hired a lawyer to take action over allegations by the Canadian Council for Refugees that they physically abused and verbally intimidated the Chinese in their custody; the RCMP disputes the allegations.

Using accelerated procedures, Canada's Refugee Board is expected to make decisions by December 1999 on the asylum applications filed by about 600 Chinese who came on the four ships. In the first case considered in September 1999, the application for asylum was rejected. Many Chinese apply for asylum and disappear; arrest warrants were issued for 37 Chinese from the first ship who did not show up for their asylum hearings. According to the Canadian government, the initial cost of providing food and shelter and processing the 600 Chinese migrants was C$2 million, with two-thirds of the cost for immigration personnel.

In Canada asylum seekers are not generally detained, as they are in the United States. Instead, most are given work permits or welfare benefits. One reason the Canadian government does not detain asylum seekers is that it grants refugee status to most of them: 54 percent of the 23,838 asylum applicants in 1998 were accepted as refugees, compared with 35 percent of 57,786 applicants in the US. The 1997 report, "Not Just Numbers: A Canadian Framework for Future Immigration," urged Canada to detain asylum applicants who arrive without documentation and pose a risk of flight; detention, it was argued, would act as a deterrent for false applicants.

However, Canada has begun to detain all Chinese adults who arrive on smuggling boats--429 were detained at the end of September.

Once in New York, their chief destination, unauthorized Chinese women who have children sometimes send them back to China to be raised by relatives because they cannot afford to raise their children in New York while working in the garment industry or restaurants and repaying smuggling debts. The New York Times on September 14, 1999 described several Chinese mothers who had sent their US-born, and thus US-citizen, babies to China because it was too expensive to raise them in New York. It was estimated that 10 to 20 percent of the 1,500 babies delivered at the Chinatown Health Center in 1998 were sent to China.

The new Governor General of Canada—the Queen's representative-- is a Hong Kong-Chinese immigrant. There are about 900,000 Chinese-Canadians in Canada.

Canadian provinces have begun to sue residents who sponsor immigrants who arrive in Canada and obtain welfare. Since 1997, provinces, and not just the federal government, can sue sponsors for welfare payments collected by immigrants they sponsored—sponsorship involves a 10-year pledge to support the newcomers.

Canada's immigrant-investor program was described by a senior forensic accountant at the World Bank as a "massive fraud" in a report issued in September 1999. The accountant concluded that many who entered as foreign investors, supposedly to put their money in businesses or investment polls which would create or preserve jobs, had, in fact, little money at risk.

Consultants prepared "offering memoranda" that, after approval by provincial and federal governments, were used to solicit investments, usually in Asia. After receiving foreigners' funds, the consultants found Canadian businesses in which to invest; the audit said the middlemen rather than Canada's economy benefited from the program.
Some 16,667 foreigners—80 percent from Hong Kong and Taiwan—became Canadian immigrants after investing C$150,000 to C$400,000 in Canada—the required investment was raised several times, beginning in 1992. Beginning in April 1999, foreign investors must deposit C$400,000 with a provincial government—one report noted that there were no foreign investor visas issued between April and August 1999.

Canada-US Migration.

Despite reports of Canadian professors moving to the US for higher salaries and more opportunities, Statistics Canada in a Fall 1998 report found that "there is little statistical evidence in support of a large-scale exodus of knowledge workers from Canada to the United States." Canadian full professors earned an average of US$59,580 in 1998; US full professors earned on average $72,721.

Statistics Canada reported that that 4,600 of 300,000 members of Canada's 1995 graduating class, or 1.5 percent of the total, moved to the United States within two years of graduation, with the highest rates of emigration among those in health, engineering and applied science. About 20 percent of those who left Canada in 1995 had returned by 1997, and half of those in the US in 1997 said they expected to return to Canada eventually.

In 1998, a Canadian refugee board rejected a Czech family's claim that they were Gypsies because the board said they looked more "Pakistani or Turkish." In September 1999, the family won the right to have their ethnicity reassessed. A federal judge ruled that it was "inherently dangerous" to judge an applicant's ethnicity by physical features. The judge added that the refugee board ignored evidence that some Roma clans originated in India and may be dark-skinned. The confusion over the Mitac family's ethnicity might have been avoided, the court noted, if a Gypsy interpreter had been available during the hearing to confirm that the applicants were fluent in the Romany language.

The Toronto Board of Health is asking the Canadian government to help pay for the costs associated with an outbreak of tuberculosis; the Board says the disease is linked to immigration. Between January and July 1999, eight cases of TB were reported among the 340 Tibetan refugees who entered the country; treatment costs C$250,000 a person. A Toronto doctor said that 18 percent of the 60 Tibetans screened have a history of active TB and 92 percent skin-test positive, "which means at least that they have inactive TB."

Ottawa and Chinese Illegal's

Recently, immigration officials warned the government months in advance that a wave of illegal Chinese migrants might be heading for the British Columbia coast, but no action was taken to prevent last summer's armada, according to documents obtained by the National Post.

The officials predicted that smuggling rings might try to land "large numbers," and said the relatively lax treatment of people sneaking into the country, particularly compared to the United States, made Canada a choice target for the clandestine trade.

An intelligence report prepared by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration warned that a crackdown by United States officials on marine landings has "raised spectres that, despite the weather, rings may attempt to land large numbers of Chinese illegally by boat along the British Columbia coast."

The report, which summarizes illegal Chinese migration into Canada in 1998, states that the numbers of illegal Chinese migrants to Canada will continue to increase because of the Canadian policy of "immediate release" for refugee claimants.

"The prognosis for the Year of the Rabbit (1999) is that irregular migration from the [People's Republic of China] will continue to grow as long as immediate release offers the dual options of access to the Canadian asylum system and the American border," the report stated.

Nearly 600 Chinese arrived on the B.C. shore last summer, turning up in overcrowded and filthy rustbuckets. Some migrants were dumped by the smugglers on the fringe of the coastal wilderness.

The summary of the report warned that "rumours continue of Chinese rings organizing boats to carry PRC citizens illegally to North America," and noted that a successful crackdown in the United States on illegal attempts to enter by boat had made B.C. an even more attractive destination.

During the last decade, tightened asylum procedures in Australia and certain European countries also led Chinese migrants to look elsewhere. Canada, meanwhile, took a step toward making them more welcome. In 1993, four years after Tiananmen Square, the number of Chinese claimants dropped to 414, and Canada declared illegal Chinese migration "solved."

"As a result, Canada has been increasingly targeted both as a destination and for transit to the U.S.A.," states the report.

Increasing international controls "have raised the fees charged by the rings" and changed the profile of the average illegal Chinese migrant.

While this section of the document, released under access to information legislation, was heavily edited before being released, it states that most migrants to Canada since 1993 have come through the credit-ticket system.

This is a system in which the passage brokers are reimbursed the charge of up to $50,000 per person after the migrant lands in North America.

Increased individual freedom in China has also paved the way for the rise of illegal migration to North America, the report notes, with sinologists predicting "the possibility of a mass exodus of Chinese to North America in the next decade, with 50,000 to 100,000 entering the U.S.A. illegally annually."

Immigration officials concluded that "the majority" of illegal migrants from China "do not intend to stay around to have their claims adjudicated," but rather plan to go underground or to make their way across the border to the United States.

Of the 599 migrants from China's Fujian province who arrived by boat last summer, 65 have failed to show up for refugee hearings and are believed to have gone underground in Canada or the United States. Elinor Caplan, the Immigration Minister, in response to mounting public pressure, has said she will consider measures to detain illegal migrants, but has yet to introduce any legislation.

The report is skeptical of the legitimacy of the migrants' refugee claims, referring to "the continuing existence of economic and political push/pull factors" and the mail that claimants receive. "This mail traffic of [portion black out by Immigration] after claims have been entered in Canada suggests some individuals may have little to fear in the PRC."

But despite the questions surrounding the refugee claimants, the rate of acceptance of the migrants by the Immigration and Refugee board stands at 62%, compared with a global acceptance rate of 57%.

One significant development, noted in a summary of the third quarter of 1999, is that the "massive crackdown" by authorities in the Chinese coastal provinces of Fujian, Guandong, Zheijiang, Liaoning and Guanxgi "appears to have had some results."

On Sept. 6, two ships bound for Canada carrying 131 migrants were intercepted.

Canada & new law : The proposed Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

The proposed Immigration and Refugee Protection Act would impose fines of up to C$1 million and life in prison for traffickers who are involved in the smuggling of ten or more migrants, speed up the consideration of asylum applications and detain some asylum applicants.

Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan said, "Closing the back door to those who would abuse the system will allow us to open the front door even wider -- both to genuine refugees and to the immigrants Canada will need to grow and prosper in the future."

Caplan said that she wants to achieve the Liberal Party's election campaign promise to increase the annual intake of immigrants to one percent of the Canada's population - about 300,000; in recent years, 200,000 to 225,000 immigrants arrived.

Caplan travelled to China in April 2000, and said that Canada would expedite the return of illegal migrants to China and launch a campaign to warn young Chinese about the dangers of "putting their futures in the hands of snakeheads."

China believes that Canada encourages illegal migration by considering asylum claims from all those who arrive. Of the 599 illegal Chinese immigrants caught in 1999 attempting to enter Canada on boats, 11 were granted refugee status by April 2000, 356 remain in detention centres and about 100 cases still have to be finalised—23 were returned to China.

China announced a four-point program to discourage illegal emigration, including education, increased police patrols, severe punishment for smugglers, and more jobs for young people.

In Changle, China has begun to announce the capture of migrants leaving for North America, reporting that several hundred were detained as they tried to leave coastal fishing villages, presumably to link up with smuggling ships.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has an officer in Beijing to combat human smuggling, organized crime and international fraud. An estimated 100,000 Chinese leave the country illegally each year; 80,000 are believed to be from a few counties in Fujian province.

Some 200 US citizens applied for asylum in Canada between 1995 and 1999; one American was granted asylum. A Black couple claiming FBI harassment had their asylum application rejected; they are appealing the decision.

Canada wants to dramatically step up information-sharing with European countries

Canada wants to dramatically step up information-sharing with European countries in order to combat human smuggling. That would mean exchanging such information as police files on known traffickers, intelligence on the movement of migrants and the travel routes being used, Caplan said recently to a conference on illegal migration:

``Where there's a will to find ways to share information, it can happen,'' ``We need to share information internationally to help us figure out who's who and make sure that we're dealing harshly with the criminals. ``There would be an opportunity for Canada to link in with a European network (of immigration control officers) and enhance our capability.'' `We need to share information internationally to help us figure out who's who and make sure that we're dealing harshly with the criminals.'

Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan Caplan joined other immigration and interior ministers calling for tough new measures against human trafficking after 58 Chinese migrants suffocated in a truck at the British port of Dover last month.

Caplan said authorities must best the traffickers, who are adept at global communications and information sharing.:

``These are international networks with sophisticated communications,'' ``If we don't do that on an international scale we're not going to be successful.'' Caplan also pushed the other ministers to support efforts to pass a United Nations convention on organised crime, which includes protocols on migrant smuggling and trafficking.

Canada wants those U.N. protocols to contain strong provisions for the deportation of illegal migrants - and an obligation for their home countries to take them back. One of the problems Canada has faced, even after it detects illegal immigration, is to get countries such as China to agree to take back migrants.

Caplan referred to ``the obligation to deal with return of nationals. We consider it essential to do that.'' She also coaxed her European counterparts to allow more regular immigration, telling them they might have fewer problems from illegal migrants if they were more open about taking in regular immigrants. ``Canada's experience reinforces the fundamental importance of adopting a balanced approach as we confront new and emerging trends in migration.''

``In this context, the `zero immigration' policies of the past are simply not viable.'' "I am convinced that the question of migration will be one of the major issues of the 21st century for Europe,'' adding that Europe will absorb some 50 million immigrants in the next 50 years.

He demanded greater co-operation between police forces and said he planned to triple existing fines of $1,405 imposed on transportation companies for every illegal immigrant found travelling in their trucks, planes and boats.

• Chinese legal and illegal migration and Australia

Australian Immigration Minister Phillip Ruddock said stronger measures are needed. Australia, he said, has prison terms of up to 20 years for human smugglers. ``We must ask ourselves whether we should stand by and let the people smugglers decide who should come and live in our countries''.

Australia: Boat People migration in 1999

Australia's Minister for Immigration Philip Ruddock is urging passage of the Border Protection Legislation Amendment Bill 1999, to reduce the flow of boat people to Australia. Ruddock said that 10,000 foreigners, many from the Middle East, were getting ready to travel by boat to Australia.

About 1,700 foreigners arrived by boat in the first 10 months of 1999, including 700 in the first two weeks of November—513 Iraqis and 147 Afghanis. One-third of the 8,646 asylum applicants allowed to remain in Australia in 1997-98 were from the Middle East. About 1,671 foreigners arrived illegally on 35 boats between July and mid-November 1999; a total of 2,500 on 50 boats in the first 11 months of 1999. Australia estimates the cost of processing and returning each failed asylum seeker at A$50,000.

On November 2, an Indonesian boat carrying 352 illegal immigrants was seized off the northwest coats of Western Australia, the largest single seizure of migrants. Most of the migrants—each of whom paid a smuggling fee of A$10,000-- were from Iraq. The Indonesian crew faces charges under the Migration Act for illegally bringing immigrants to Australia—penalties can be up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to A$220,000.

On November 22, five Indonesian fishermen were sentenced to two years in jail for smuggling illegal immigrants into the country. The sentence is the first since the government introduced higher penalties for smuggling.

The proposed new legislation would grant three-year Temporary Protected Status to foreigners who arrived illegally by boat and whose asylum applications were accepted. Australian patrols would also be allowed to board suspect vessels in international waters and to reject asylum applications from foreigners who had applied for asylum in other countries. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees endorsed the Australian proposal.

Australia noted the speed with which smugglers adjusted to policy changes. After Australia began to detain Chinese and repatriate them with the agreement of the Chinese government, the Australia government believes, smugglers of Chinese migrants shifted their boats to Canada. The government believes that smugglers are encouraging Iraqis and Afghanis to fly to Indonesia, where they are taken by boat to northwestern Australia. People-smuggling is not a crime in Indonesia, and Australia is trying to persuade Indonesia to change its laws and to impose visa requirements on nationals from some Middle Eastern countries.

Australia has posted anti-smuggling specialists in Oman, Athens, Bangkok, Islamabad and Teheran.

The Australian government received backing for the proposed legislation from the opposition Labor Party on November 22. Labor said that although it supported the new rules, it did not think they would deter illegal immigration, and added that its support was "essentially a vote against queue jumping," which gives those who enter Australia illegally the same treatment as those who are legal immigrants.

Australia - China - Approved Destination Status

Australia is one of only two western countries to be designated as approved destinations for tourists from China. This means that Chinese tourists are able to travel to Australia more easily as part of pre-organised tour groups. As a result, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Australia is increasing significantly, providing a substantial boost to Australia's tourism industry.

Background

The Approved Destination Status (ADS) was developed as a result of co-operation between government and industry in both Australia and China, in recognition of the increasing interest in visiting Australia shown by the Chinese people.

Chinese authorities designated a number of travel agents in China to establish links with Australian nominated travel agents to arrange group travel from China.

The Australian nominated travel agents were selected by the Inbound Tourism Organization of Australia (ITOA), now known as the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC). The first ADS visitors arrived in Australia in August 1999. Since then, over 32,000 Chinese ADS visa holders have visited Australia.

The Department's approach

The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) introduced special arrangements to ensure the smooth operation of the ADS system. These include certain safeguards to ensure that travel agents and tourists comply with ADS conditions. The arrangements include:

1. The introduction of a visitor visa specifically designed for group applicants from China. The arrangement provides each member of the group with an individual visa, valid for the period of the tour group itinerary, with no work entitlements and no capacity to extend the length of the visa, or change visa status within Australia;
2. Providing travel agents who have a proven record of their tour groups complying with visa conditions, with a streamlined service;
3. Taking appropriate action against the organizing travel agents if any member of a group fails to return to China. This may include the suspension of the travel agent from the ADS program for a period of time.
Chinese arrangements

The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), in conjunction with relevant agencies in Australia, have developed a number of procedures to regulate the operation of travel agents in China. These procedures include:

1. restriction of ADS to registered residents of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong province;
2. under PRC regulations, authorization of 22 travel agents by the PRC Government to initially handle self-paid outbound travel by Chinese citizens to Australia;
3. written agreements between agencies nominated by the CNTA and inbound tourist agencies nominated by ATEC;
4. operators restricted to organizing group tours of no less than nine members, with a Chinese tour escort. The escort is responsible for keeping the group on schedule and returning all travelers to China;
5. monitoring the performance of each agent by Chinese authorities;
6. travel costs fully paid by the traveler;
7. a requirement that all travelers in every group must return to China; and
8. sanctions for travel agencies who do not meet the required standards; for example, financial penalties (imposed by CNTA) and/or loss of their approved status.

Statistics

Overall visitor visas issued to PRC citizens to travel to Australia rose from 8,892 in 1991-92 to 106,512 in 2000-01.

In 2000-01, Australian immigration offices in China granted 106,512 visitor visas, an increase of more than 35% over the previous record in 1999-2000. The figure comprised 67,232 visas for tourism or visiting friends or relatives and 39,280 visas for business trips. More than 25,000 of the tourist visas were granted to members of tourist groups under ADS in 2000-01.

1999 : Law enforcement co-operation with China

The signing of a memorandum of understanding on law enforcement co-operation between Australia and the People's Republic of China marks a significant milestone in Australia's law enforcement relationship with China.

The Chinese Ambassador to Australia, Mr Zhou Wenzhong, signed the memorandum with the Prime Minister and President Jiang Zemin and the Australian authorities:

"The increase in people to people contacts, trade and communications between Australia and China in recent years has regrettably been accompanied by a growth in transnational criminal activity affecting our two countries.
We know, for example, that there are significant movements through Chinese territory of illicit drugs destined for the Australian market.

The recent upsurge in the arrival of illegal immigrants by sea has included a large component of Chinese nationals.
If we are to address these developments effectively we will need the help and co-operation of the Chinese law enforcement authorities.

Chinese authorities are keen to take effective measures to combat these criminal activities.

The Memorandum of Understanding we have signed today will provide a framework for law enforcement agencies in Australia to seek and obtain reciprocal assistance from their counterparts in the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and vice versa".

The forms of assistance contemplated under the Memorandum includes:

• exchange of information on offences and planned offences;
• location of suspects, missing persons and witnesses;
• taking voluntary statements;
• examining relevant objects and sites; and
• exchanging records, documents and technical information.

"This assistance will be provided in accordance with each country's laws and fundamental policies and in compliance with international treaties. We expect that the Memorandum of Understanding will promote enhanced co-operation between Australian and Chinese police. In the longer term this co-operation should impact substantially to reduce the level of transnational criminal activity between Australia and China".

• Information campaigns, illegal migrants and the partners of China

The earlier campaigns conducted by Australia, Canada and the United States (documented information : leaflets, brochures, booklets and posters) in their respective countries or in the diplomatic representations in China provinces were not successful due to : limited external campaigns (abroad China) and a certain lack of understanding of the common people's, mentality, and the Chinese culture in general in China (messages and targeted groups). The European Union can provide much more valuable information for the current information campaigns in China, through their know-how, as well as information sharing and not by imposing to China a pre-established information campaign.

In 1999, eight boats carrying 544 illegal Chinese immigrants were captured in Australia. All were repatriated to China.

Philip Ruddock and Andrew Metcalfe, deputy secretary of the Australian Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, also visited Beijing and Fujian Province to discuss how to reduce illegal immigration. A large-scale publicity campaign was also launched in China and Australia to increase awareness of the risks and punishments of illegal immigration. Chinese police handled 1,300 illegal immigration cases and captured 9,000 stowaways in 1999.

The 15th August 2000, twenty-two illegal immigrants have been returned to China from Australia, according to a news report released yesterday by the Australian Embassy in Beijing. The news was confirmed by a Public Security Ministry official who refused to be named. The plane carrying the illegal immigrants arrived in Fujian Province on August 8, the official said. The stowaways had been detained in Australia's Hedland Port after illegally landing in the city of Cairns, the report said.

The report quoted Philip Ruddock, Australian Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, as saying that the removal of the illegal immigrants indicated on-going co-operation between the Chinese and Australian governments.
It also demonstrated the futility of trying to enter Australia illegally, the minister said. The Public Security Ministry official said the returnees have been transferred to local procurators and will be punished according to the law.

Canada also repatriated 180 illegal immigrants in two groups to China in May and July. Except for minors and people whose crimes were less severe, most of them will be prosecuted, said a public security official. According to law, Chinese nationals must get permission from local public security departments before going abroad. Organizers of illegal immigration usually are sentenced to two to seven years in prison. Stowaways are usually fined between 1,000-5,000 yuan (US$120-602) and may have to spend a year in prison. The public security official said the Chinese Government will work more closely with Australia to fight illegal immigration.

The 14th January 2001, the Chinese Government, in response to the question of illegal Chinese immigrants detained by the US, replied that China had consistently opposed illegal immigration and had taken effective measures to curb it. Chinese Prime minister said: "China has enacted laws banning illegal immigration and strengthening managements on the borders," adding that China also kept up healthy consultation with relevant countries to deal properly with the problems of illegal immigration. However, Zhu warned that illegal immigration could be encouraged if relevant countries easily believed some illegal immigrants' lies and so-called "political asylum" excuses.

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Dr Pierre Picquart

Pierre Picquart, Docteur en Géopolitique spécialité Géographie Humaine de l'Université de Paris-VIII, Expert international, Universitaire, Chroniqueur, Directeur du CEDRIC (International Consulting), Directeur du site Chinois de France, Ecrivain (L'Empire Chinois et la Forme Olympique de la Chine aux éditions Favre), est un consultant international.

Après sa thèse de doctorat en 1999 sur "Les Chinois de Paris", 3 tomes, 1 147 pages, il se rend en Chine, étudie les communautés chinoises d'Europe, puis mène des missions institutionnelles (prévention des conflits, migrations chinoises, structures des associations chinoises, etc.) pour les Etatset l'Union Européenne. Expert international, il dirige de nombreuses missions en Europe et dans le le monde. Auteur de nombreux articles et travaux géopolitique, il dirige actuellement des missions internationales, interculturelles, humaines, sociétales et économiques dans le monde entier.

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