South Korean activists claimed that police have arrested some 65 North Korean asylum seekers in Beijing following a raid on two houses used as a refugee shelter on 26 October. Two human rights activists from South Korea, Kim Hong-kyoon, 41, and Lee Soo-chul, 47, have also been detained. China’s hard-line measure to round up North Korean defectors came amid a rising number of large-scale asylum bids in recent weeks – with 44 seeking refuge at the Canadian Embassy and more than 20 at the South Korean Consulate in Beijing.
Meanwhile, China has called on foreign embassies to refrain from providing shelter to North Korean asylum seekers. According to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhang Qiyue, China would punish intruders at embassies and foreign schools for violating Chinese laws, damaging public order and stability in China and for disturbing the regular activities of embassies and foreign schools. Although a treaty with North Korea has put China under obligation to send back North Koreans who fled from their country, it has not done so, in cases that have become public.
A Netherlands appeals court has upheld the jail sentences meted out by a lower court to seven Chinese nationals involved in a human trafficking syndicate operating in China and Western Europe. The seven were involved in the Dover tragedy in June 2000. Two of the suspects were meted five- and four-year prison terms for their direct involvement in the Dover incident. Jinjping Cheng or Sister Ping, whom prosecutors accused of being the ring’s mastermind, was convicted for other human smuggling activities but was cleared of involvement in the Dover case because of lack of evidence. The same holds true for four other Chinese who will be serving from six months to two and a half years in prison for their involvement in other human smuggling activities but not for the Dover incident.
According to the Ministry of Public Security, China is trying to improve its security measures to combat irregular migration that has turned into a transnational crime. Concerned ministries, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the China Tourism Administration conducted a joint comprehensive review of the activities of brokerage firms engaged in immigration, overseas study, overseas work, labor services and outbound tours from 25 March to 25 June this year. The public security offices in China also launched a five-month campaign starting October 2004, to fight crime and human smuggling in the border areas. Authorities were able to identify some 5,286 people who were smuggled into another country and arrested 444 organizers of such activities. About 16,282 irregular foreign migrants working in China have also been repatriated.
Seven male workers took sleeping pills in their hostel in a suicide attempt in Shenyang last 23 October to call attention to the plight of the exploited migrant workers. A co-worker discovered the group suicide and was able to get help to bring the workers to the hospital. The seven men who worked at a construction site were allegedly distressed over the non-payment of their salaries and the problems the situation was causing their families.
A rights group revealed that five young workers were taken to jail after joining a riot at the Stella International Factory, a Taiwan-owned shoe factory in Dongguan, Guangdong Province last 23 April. The riot, involving up to 1,000 workers demanding unpaid salaries, allegedly caused damages worth 150,000 yuan to the factory. The five workers, aged from 16 to 21, were meted jail terms of up to three-and-a-half years in apparent efforts to quell the rising worker unrest in the region. The Stella Factory manufactures shoes for well-known brands like Brown, Wolverine, World, Timberland and Clark.
The Beijing Municipal People’s Congress pushed for the adoption of more effective measures by the local government in order to protect the legal interests of employees, particularly migrant workers. Legislators urged various departments of the municipal government to adopt a joint supervision system to regulate private enterprises and ensure their adherence to the Labor Law
Beijing and Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province signed an agreement on 14 October that guarantees the protection of the legal rights of migrant workers from the province in order to address the capital’s labor shortage. The agreement specifically deals with the protection of the employment rights of migrant workers, the timely payment of wages, working hours, working environment, health conditions and social security. There are over three million migrant workers in Beijing, and nearly 120,000 of them are from Heilongjiang.
After three years of negotiation, the Beijing municipal government finally granted a license for the operation of a school for the children of rural migrant workers. More than 1,000 children from migrant families and their teachers are awaiting the legal operation of the Xingzhi School. Although the standards of the Xingzhi School have met government approval, local officials are not too keen on the idea of granting permits to other similar private schools, which are often poorly equipped.
Experts are concerned over the security, education and psychological well-being of children of migrant workers left behind in their hometowns. With about 90 million rural laborers migrating to the big cities to find employment, some 70 million children are left at home in the care of one parent or other family members. A survey from Zhugao, a town in Sichuan Province, reveals that majority of the migrants’ children suffer academically and emotionally from the absence of their parents. According to Li Qingfeng of the Beijing Polytechnical University, the lack of communication between parents and children threatens the full development of these children.
The economic growth in Shanghai is attracting a lot of foreign workers. According to the Shanghai Municipal Labor and Social Security Bureau, there are currently almost 33,000 foreigners working in social services, manufacturing, real estate and construction or in Chinese joint ventures with foreign companies or branches of foreign businesses. Taxation authorities disclosed that during the first six months of the year, the personal taxes paid by foreigners reached 1.6 billion yuan, representing 14.28 percent of the metropolis’ total individual income taxes.
Sources: China Daily “Pact signed for migrant workers," The Star Online, 16 October 2004; Xinhua News Agency, “More foreigners choose to work in Shanghai," China Daily, 17 October 2004; “Migrant school finally gains license," CCTV, 19 October 2004; AFP, “Dutch appeals court upholds sentences for Chinese trafficking ring," 21 October 2004; Liu Chang, “Firms told to be fair to migrant workers," China Daily, 22 October 2004; “China reinforces effects to combat illicit immigration," The People’s Daily Online, 22 October 2004; AP, “China says embassies shouldn’t take asylum seekers," 26 October 2004; AP, “Chinese police detain more than 60 amid North Korean asylum bids," 26 October 2004; Xinhua News Agency, “Rural migrants leave 70m children behind," China Daily, 26 October 2004; Louisa Lim, “N. Koreans arrested in Beijing," BBC News, 27 October 2004; Reuben Staines, “Beijing gets tough with NK refugees," The Korea Times, 27 October 2004; “Unpaid workers in group suicide bid," The Straits Times, 27 October 2004; AFP, “Five Chinese sweatshop workers jailed for protesting unpaid wages," 28 October 2004; AP, “China is said to detain 65 Koreans," 28 October 2004; Xinhua News Agency, “China to punish embassy intruders," China Daily, 28 October 2004