Media: Can China accept refugees?

Faced with the tide of refugees in Europe, some netizens in China believe that China should accept some refugees and provide them with help; Some netizens object that this will lead to a "refugee siege" in China in the future, just like Europe now. In fact, China has a long history of accepting refugees on a large scale, and today China is still accepting refugees from various countries.

Who are the "refugees"?

The recognition of "refugee" status in international law is mainly based on 195 1 convention and 1967 protocol related to refugee status. China has signed these two documents at 1982.

Liang Shuying, an authority on international refugee law and a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, pointed out in an article entitled "Principles for Dealing with Illegally Entered Refugees" that according to current international law, a person must meet three conditions: living outside his own country or country of habitual residence, unable or unwilling to be protected by his own country, unable or unwilling to return to his country of habitual residence, and because of his race, religion, nationality, social group he belongs to or certain political opinions.

Although the above two international conventions do not stipulate that people who fled their homes because of war need to be recognized as "refugees". However, the current practice of the international community is to identify those who fled their country in the case of war as "refugees".

During World War II, nearly 30,000 Jews took refuge in Shanghai.

The most famous refugee reception in China was the Jewish refugee shelter during World War II.

At that time, faced with the persecution of Jews by German fascists, many European countries refused to accept Jewish refugees. He Fengshan, Consul General of China in Vienna, issued visas to many Jewish refugees.

He Fengshan was sent to the Chinese Embassy in Austria on 1937 and left Vienna on 1940. According to He Fengshan's memoirs, a young Jew went to more than 40 consulates, and none of them would issue him a visa. Finally, he found He Fengshan. He Fengshan said I would issue you a visa, and he said I want 1 1. The visa must be issued in person, but He Fengshan sent him 1 1.

After the news of He Fengshan's efforts to help Jews spread quickly, there was a long queue in front of the Consulate General of China in Vienna. The fascist authorities confiscated the house on the grounds that the consulate in China rented a Jewish house. He Fengshan rented a small house at his own expense and continued to issue "life-saving visas" to Jews.

How many Jews have obtained visas in He Fengshan? So far, there are no accurate figures. However, from June of 1938 to June of 10, he issued more than 900 copies of/kloc-0 according to the visa number he found, and the Nazi stormtroopers created "Crystal Night" in June of 1938+0 1 0, and He Fengshan

1937 to August 1939 is the peak period for Jewish refugees to flood into Shanghai, and they are arranged to live in Tilanqiao, Hongkou District, Shanghai. However, with the outbreak of the 194 1 Pacific War, the Japanese army drove Jewish refugees to the refugee isolation zone in Hongkou, and more than 20,000 Jewish refugees and 654.38 million China people who originally lived in Hongkou were squeezed into a narrow space with less than 1 square mile.

Fortunately, nearly 30,000 Jewish refugees survived in Shanghai and started a new life when Hitler brought 6 million Jews into concentration camps for appalling slaughter.

In the 1970s, the mainland and Hong Kong each received more than 200,000 Vietnamese refugees.

After 1949, China received international refugees on a large scale for the first time, during the Vietnamese boat people tide, the "anti-Chinese" tide and the Sino-Vietnamese war in the late 1970s. China's commitment to "provide permanent refugee asylum for every Vietnamese refugee who comes to China" is unique in the history of UN refugee assistance. According to statistics, by the end of 1978, China * * * had received 265,000 Vietnamese refugees, many of whom were expatriates from China. After screening, these refugees and returned overseas Chinese were sent to 263 state-owned farms in Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces.

Hong Kong's handling of the "boat people tide" in Vietnam is a model of following the international principles of "non-refoulement" and "mutual assistance and sharing among countries". After the Vietnam War, the first batch of 3,743 Vietnamese refugees were all accepted by Hong Kong in May 1975. At this point, a wave of Vietnamese boat people broke out in small Hong Kong. Hong Kong abides by the principle of "non-refoulement", withstood enormous economic and social pressures and took in more than 200,000 Vietnamese who fled Hong Kong. In the end, under the coordination of UNHCR, more than 6.5438+0.4 million people were resettled in a third country according to the principle of "mutual assistance and sharing", far exceeding the 67,000 people who were repatriated afterwards.

Today, China is still receiving refugees.

There is still much work to be done in receiving refugees from China, that is, fulfilling international obligations under the coordination of the international community.

1At the end of 979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, and a large number of Afghan refugees fled south to the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan and were blocked and stranded on the border between China and Afghanistan. China opened its borders and temporarily accepted more than 60,000 Afghan refugees.

From 1980 to 1988, China, as a transit country for South Asian refugees, received more than 20,000 Indian Sikh refugees and Sri Lankan Tamil refugees with the help of UNHCR and the financial support of European and American countries. The vast majority of these refugees later moved to the United States, Canada and Germany, Italy and Spain, and a few changed their stateless passports and stayed in China, mainly in Beijing, Guangzhou and Kunming.

After the Iraq war in 2003, China not only provided assistance to refugee camps in Jordan, but also accepted some Iraqi immigrants as transit countries.

In 2009, a civil war broke out in the self-government armed forces of the First Special Zone (commonly known as Kokang Special Zone) in North Shan State, Myanmar, and nearly 10,000 Kokang refugees poured into ports such as Nansan in China and took refuge in China. China has guaranteed the basic livelihood of refugees.

Afterwards, after receiving the promise of "ensuring the safety of refugees", China persuaded them to repatriate most of them in a short time.

According to the report of Looking at the World magazine in 20 14, there were 138 refugees living in China approved by UNHCR, and 4 10 people submitted asylum applications, most of whom were Africans. The main reasons for becoming refugees are war and conflict.

Who cares if "refugees" come to China?

According to the information on the UNHCR website, anyone who is not of China nationality can apply for refugee status in China. As long as you bring your passport and register your name, nationality, date of birth and reasons for becoming a refugee in the UNHCR office in Beijing, you can get the asylum seeker's certificate and make an appointment for screening interview. They can legally stay in China until the screening interview. Asylum seekers' certificates are generally valid for two months. If it is not their turn to interview, they can take the original and exchange it for a new one.

Screening interviews is usually the responsibility of the host government. However, the China government did not take over this work, so it was still the responsibility of UNHCR. "World Wide" magazine reported that screening interviews were conducted one-on-one, and were conducted by UNHCR staff. The interview mainly focused on "Why did you leave your country?". Questions and answers are very specific, usually lasting more than two hours, and sometimes it takes four hours or even longer. UNHCR staff will judge the credibility of applicants' answers according to whether various scenarios and details meet the local conditions and identify whether they really meet the refugee standards. Many candidates will "reveal the stuffing" in this link.

If the first screening interview fails, the applicant has the opportunity to appeal, accept the second interview, answer many detailed questions and prove his identity. If the applicant fails the second time, UNHCR will submit the applicant's information to the public security organ in China, and the public security organ in China will treat the person as an illegal resident.

If they pass the interview, refugees and asylum seekers can choose their own residence in China, but UNHCR staff will also give them some advice.

In addition, China has no special laws to deal with international refugees. At present, the daily management of refugees in China is mainly in accordance with the exit and entry management law. This law, which was promulgated on June 30th, 20th12nd, explicitly mentioned refugees for the first time: "Foreigners who apply for refugee status can stay in China with temporary identity certificates issued by public security organs during refugee status screening; Foreigners who are recognized as refugees can stay and stay in China with the refugee identity documents issued by the public security organs. " In addition, there are no relevant rules and regulations.

At present, the guiding document concerning the specific response of international refugees is mainly the National Emergency Plan for Foreign-related Emergencies, which is a part of the overall national emergency plan system formulated after the SARS incident in 2003.

Will "refugees" live in China forever?

The answer is, it is difficult.

There are usually three permanent solutions for refugees by UNHCR-voluntary repatriation: generally, when the situation in the source area improves, you can apply to UNHCR for help to return to China; Local integration: that is, settle in the place where you apply for refugee status and become a citizen of that country; Resettlement in a third country: you can apply to a country willing to accept refugees and grant them nationality.

Due to the war and other reasons, for many refugees, it is a long time to go home. At present, there are no relevant laws and regulations in China to solve the refugee status problem, and the best way out is to be accepted by a third country.

UNHCR can't decide whether to accept refugees, which is entirely up to the host country, and refugees can't choose which country to go to. No one knows how long it will take a country to accept refugee status.

While waiting, these refugees should also manage foreigners according to the laws of China. No refugee has the right to work in China. During their stay in China, refugees are generally regarded as foreigners and have no right to work. Therefore, their accommodation and meals are completely assisted by UNHCR. Their medical expenses are also paid by UNHCR.

According to the Measures for the Administration of Foreigners' Accommodation Registration in Public Security Police Stations, if you want to move, you need to apply to the police station for change of accommodation registration. The police will check the relevant materials, indicate them in the "Remarks" column of the Alien Accommodation Registration Form, and report them to the entry-exit administration department.

In recent years, the rights enjoyed by refugees in China have also increased. At the end of 20 12, the UNHCR office in China was informed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China had signed agreements with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Civil Affairs to allow refugee children to attend public schools in China.

China is not a popular refugee destination, but the number of people applying for refugee status has been increasing in recent years. In an interview with Look at the World magazine, the staff of the UNHCR representative office in China said: "In the past, as long as you registered directly, you could get the certificate of asylum seekers, and then set the screening interview time. Now, because there are too many applicants, one item has been added to the process. You must make an appointment in advance by email or door-to-door, and the staff will arrange the registration date. "

Thus, the refugee problem in China has begun to emerge. How to solve the problem of refugee follow-up and deal with the possible refugee risks in the future, China should formulate a refugee law in line with China's national conditions on the basis of international law as soon as possible.