U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants World Refugee Survey 2005 - China

Refoulement/Asylum  China refouled at least 5,000 North Koreans and as many as 200 per week during crackdowns, at times permitting North Korean security forces to enter its territory to abduct refugees, and tightened security along the border. North Korea punished defectors with detention, forced labor, torture, and sometimes execution if they met with non-Chinese foreigners or Christians. As the North Korean Government's motives for such persecution appeared to be political, USCRI considered North Koreans in China prima facie refugees. Only those who gained public attention and the protection of a foreign embassy or consulate did China allow passage to South Korea via third countries. China also denied the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and nongovernmental organizations access to the northeastern border.

There were about 100,000 North Korean refugees in China. About 1,900 North Koreans arrived in South Korea via third countries after transiting China. China permitted several hundred to travel to Seoul after they entered diplomatic compounds or international schools. In November, China confirmed that 130 North Koreans were in the South Korean consulate in Beijing, while others sought refuge in the Canadian embassy, Japanese and South Korean schools, and other foreign diplomatic compounds. The U.S. International School turned refugees over to authorities because it could not provide diplomatic protection. In November, the Mongolian Government stated it would grant passage to all defectors who presented themselves at the border.

Several hundred thousand Vietnamese refugees, mostly ethnic Chinese, entered during and after the Sino-Vietnamese war of 1979. China allowed them most of the rights of nationals but granted neither citizenship nor permanent status. After UNHCR recognized them as refugees, the majority of the remaining 1,000 Indochinese refugees in Hong Kong applied for Hong Kong identification cards and would be eligible for permanent status within seven years of application. China permitted a small number of asylum seekers of other nationalities to remain, mostly in Hong Kong, while UNHCR determined their status and sought to resettle them.

China had no law on refugees but the 1986 Law on Control of the Entry and Exit of Aliens permitted those who "seek asylum for political reasons to reside in China upon approval by the competent authorities."

Detention  The Government harassed, detained, and deported many North Korean asylum seekers. Authorities raided safehouses that held refugees preparing to enter foreign consulates and compounds in Beijing and arrested others as they tried to enter compounds. Authorities also arrested and detained foreign journalists, missionaries, and activists, as well as some Chinese citizens who helped North Koreans.

Right to Earn a Livelihood  China allowed Vietnamese but not refugees or asylum seekers of other nationalities to work and to own property. Traffickers sold some North Korean women and children into the sex trade.

The 1996 Provisions on Administration of Employment of Foreigners in China prohibited "individual economic organizations and citizens themselves" from employing foreigners but allowed "employing units" of the government to apply to the Ministry of Labor for work permits on behalf of foreigners. For issuance of permits, the law required "special need, for which there are no proper domestic choices," certificates of qualification, labor contracts, and verifications of "the demand in the labor market." Foreign workers also had to possess employment visas and foreign resident certificates. Any foreigner wishing to change employers had to go through the process all over again. The law was not applicable in Hong Kong or Macao.

Freedom of Movement and Residence  Vietnamese refugees of Chinese ethnicity had freedom of movement within the country but North Koreans were mostly in hiding from authorities seeking to refoulethem. In November, Mongolia agreed to allow defectors who made it to their border passage to third countries.

The Beijing Public Security Bureau permitted non-Korean refugees to live in private housing, if they registered with neighborhood authorities. Earlier it had confined them to two hotels. As few authorities outside of Beijing were familiar with UNHCR documentation, however, travel outside the capital would place refugees at risk of arrest and even deportation.

Public Relief and Education  China granted Vietnamese refugees aid and education on par with nationals but denied them to others. UNHCR gave small stipends to some but did not have access to most North Koreans.

Copyright 2005, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants