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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 | 
Chine, Diaspora chinoise, Chinois d'Europe, de France et de Paris
China,
Chinese overseas, Chinese in Europe, France and in Paris
