China: Status of ethnic Chinese born in Vietnam who fled to China in the late 1970s
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 May 1991 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | CHN8073 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, China: Status of ethnic Chinese born in Vietnam who fled to China in the late 1970s, 1 May 1991, CHN8073, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad2164.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. |
Please find attached a copy of Responses to Information Requests Nos. 7730 and 8051 and some of their original attachments containing information on the requested subject. Also attached, please find the copy of an article listed below which states in its last paragraphs that many Vietnamese refugees of ethnic Chinese origin who entered China in the late 1970s "still live in poverty on resettlement farms," adding that "they have no place in mainstream Chinese society" (Los Angeles Times 1991, A5). It is not clear, however, if "they" refers in this last statement to all ethnic-Chinese refugees from Vietnam or just those who live in poverty. The source indicates that "some have Chinese citizenship," and adds that many "desperately long to move on to more prosperous nations" (Ibid).
Other attachments included with the previous responses indicate that most ethnic Chinese of Vietnamese origin in China settled in farms of four provinces, with a few were scattered throughout villages. These Vietnamese have reportedly been receiving assistance from the United Nations and the Chinese government, with many of them having attained self-sufficiency. Two of the news articles attached to the Response to Information Request No. 7730 report cases of ethnic Chinese originally from Vietnam who travelled from China to Japan. Apparently many of them were considered economic migrants by the japanese government and returned to China. Please refer to the attached documents for further details on this matter.
For additional information, please refer to the attachments listed below.
Attachments:
Responses to Information Requests Nos. 7730 and 8051.
Los Angeles Times [Los Angeles]. 10 March 1991. Holley, David. "China, Vietnam Becoming Better Neighbours, a Decade After Border War." P. A5.
Bureau for Refugee Programs. September 1990. World Refugee Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of State. pp.37-38.
U.S. Committee for Refugees. 1990. World Refugee Survey: 1989 in Review. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Committee for Refugees. pp. 52-53.