China: 1) Statistics of refugee claims for the last 9 years; 2) Number of Chinese students in Canada; 3) Likelihood of employment in the civil service for non-members of the Communist party, its supporters and people with a negative label; likelihood of employment for those who have been in the West; 4) Is the living standard of civil servants comparatively higher than others'? 5) Would those who resided in the West and returned to China have to pay higher medical fees? 6) Surveillance of Chinese refugee claimants by Chinese government
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 November 1989 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | CHN2433 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, China: 1) Statistics of refugee claims for the last 9 years; 2) Number of Chinese students in Canada; 3) Likelihood of employment in the civil service for non-members of the Communist party, its supporters and people with a negative label; likelihood of employment for those who have been in the West; 4) Is the living standard of civil servants comparatively higher than others'? 5) Would those who resided in the West and returned to China have to pay higher medical fees? 6) Surveillance of Chinese refugee claimants by Chinese government, 1 November 1989, CHN2433, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac8248.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
1) For statistics on refugee claims prior to 1989, please contact André Gruschman of EIC Refugee Affairs at (613) 997-9178. For 1989 statistics, please request the latest issue of the IRB News Release at your regional IRB Documentation Centre (phone number: (416) 973-6261).
2) A recent article [ "Chinese students need clear advice", in The Toronto Star, 23 June 1989, p. A18.] put the number of Chinese students in Canada at 4,500.
Official statistics from Employment and Immigration Canada [ Immigration Statistics 1984, 1985 and 1987, (Ottawa: Supply and Services Canada, 1986, 1987 and 1988, respectively), sections on "Temporary Residence-Students".]
do not provide the total number of Chinese students in Canada each year, but provide the following information (statistics for 1987 and 1988 not published yet):
-Students from the PRC granted authorization for short term residence in Canada for educational purposes:
1985 - 1,041; 1986 - 1,358.
-Students from the PRC granted authorization for long term residence in Canada for educational purposes:
1985 - 1,312; 1986 - 1,567.
-Students from the PRC with valid status on December 31 of each year: 1985 - 1,498; 1986 - 1,996.
-Students from the PRC given authorization (by the Canadian government) to study in Canada:
1978 - 62; 1979 - 146; 1980 - 551; 1981 - 964; 1982 - 1,160; 1983 - 1,489; 1984 - 1,798.
3) The following information on employment and related issues may be useful.
Various reports indicate key government positions are held by members of the Chinese Communist party. According to one publication, [ Andrew J. Nathan, Chinese Democracy: the individual and the state in 20th Century China, (London: I.B. Tauris & Co., Ltd, 1986).] employment by the government could be considered an asset which is hard to achieve or inaccessible to those who have a negative label or are related to a family in which a member has a negative label. [ Chinese Democracy, p. 84.] Labels reportedly extend to and affect the relatives, [ Chinese Democracy, pp. 64, 70.] including educational prospects, career choice, marriage opportunities and possibilities of joining the Communist party. [ Chinese Democracy, p. 64.] One source reports that factional disputes exist within the Communist Party and conflicts may jeopardize the position of those who belong to the different factions. [ Human Rights in the People's Republic of China, (Boulder/London: Westview Pess, 1988), p. 246.] "Overseas relationships" are described by one source as a "black mark", [ Chinese Democracy, p. 207.] while another source reports that those who have had greater exposure to Western ideas have been described by the official press as the most likely to be dissatisfied and seek reforms. [ Human Rights in China, p. 223.] According to one source, the use of the term "counterrevolutionary" during the May-June 1989 events might signal a return to some of the forms of repression which characterized the Cultural Revolution. [ "Human Rights in China", in Current History, September 1989, p. 276.]
In China, jobs are reportedly assigned, sometimes for life, by local school or party committees. [10. Chinese Democracy, pp. 98, 211.] Economic reforms brought major changes to some areas of China, but after the events of May-June 1989, the Chinese government is reportedly reversing some of its liberalizing policies and reinstating old systems of political control although some market procedures prevail in the cities and the country side. [ "The uncertain future of Chinese foreign policy" and "Inflation and economic reform in China", in Current History, September 1989, pp. 261-295.]
4) The standard of living of non-government employees may vary depending on the output of their working unit or personal business, if the latter is allowed in the region where they live. Various reports recount the varying degrees of poverty and prosperity in different regions of China, particularly in the areas where some free market principles have been allowed on an experimental basis. Despite economic growth, inflation accelerated since late 1987, reportedly worsened the living conditions of many Chinese. [ "Inflation and Economic Growth", pp. 270-271.] On the other hand, Government bureaucrats and party members may enjoy a slightly higher degree of power and privilege. [ Chinese Democracy, p. 98. ]
5) No information on the medical fees required of Chinese citizens in the PRC could be found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC. One source, however, states that Chinese paid by foreign employers are required to pay a bigger portion of their salaries to the state than other Chinese. [ Human Rights in the People's Republic of China, p. 151.]
6) Three news articles published in Canada this year report that Chinese students have been spied upon by their embassy in Canada. [ "Private hearings offered Chinese" (The Globe and Mail, 27 June 1989, p. C8; "Students in a vise", The Globe and Mail, 27 June 1989, p. A6, and "Chinese students need clear advice", in The Toronto Star, 23 June 1989, p. A18.] One of the articles, "Students in a vise", paragraph 4, states that "the [Chinese] government has kept close watch on its students abroad through the foreign media and its own agents", "the Canadian government has complained to the Chinese embassy about Chinese officials spying on students here" and that "External Affairs Minister Joe Clark has received reports that Chinese diplomats have used their positions to draw up lists of Chinese students in Canada who have supported the democracy movement".
The article "Private hearings offered Chinese" reports that Immigration Canada started offering private hearings to Chinese nationals because of fear that Chinese spies could be watching people approaching their offices.
Information on whether Chinese spies do watch who approaches immigration offices, and how effective their surveillance could be, could not be found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC.