https://www.loc.gov/law/help/refugee-law/china.

php
China acceded to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol
in September 1982. Despite its accession to the treaties, the domestic law on refugees and
asylum is still under development. Currently, the only relevant legal provisions are article 32 of
the Constitution and article 46 of the Exit and Entry Law. The former provides the general
principle on asylum, declaring that the country may grant asylum to foreigners who request it
for political reasons. The latter provides that refugees and asylum seekers in China may obtain
ID cards. A comprehensive refugee law that would cover a wide range of issues relating to
refugees and asylum is under consideration.
The UNHCR Beijing Office conducts refugee registration and refugee status determinations in
China. Recognized refugees are permitted to remain temporarily in China while the UNHCR is
seeking a durable solution, which most of the time involves resettlement in a third country.
Non-Indochinese refugees are generally treated as aliens who have no right to employment.
They are supported by the UNHCR in terms of food, accommodation, health care, and childrens
education.
In addition to article 46 specifically on refugees, refugees and asylum seekers in China are
subject to other provisions of the Exit and Entry Law governing foreigners and stateless
persons, as well as other relevant Chinese laws. For example, foreigners who are sixteen years
old or older must carry their documentation for examination by public security organs.
Foreigners must also submit their residence permits to the local public security organs
wherever they reside. Hotels must report information concerning foreign guests to the local
public security organs.
I. General Background
A. Indochinese Refugees
Although not a traditionally popular destination for refugees and asylum seekers, the Peoples
Republic of China (PRC or China)[1] was one of the top ten refugee-hosting countries recognized
by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) until it was recently replaced by
Sudan in mid-2015, largely due to the fact that it accepted and still hosts a large number of
Indochinese refugees.[2] In the late 1970s, China accepted about 260,000 refugees who fled
from Vietnam to China. They were provided refugee status and settled in southern China. Most
of the Indochinese refugees were ethnic Chinese.[3] According to the UNHCR, the Indochinese
refugees and their children are well integrated and receive protection from the Chinese
government.
B. Non-Indochinese Refugees
Other than the Indochinese refugees, China attracted few refugees and asylum seekers before
the mid-1990s.[5] In the past two decades, the number of refugees and asylum seekers coming
to China has gradually increased, and the country is becoming a transit and destination country
for mixed migration as a result of its geographical and economic importance.[6]
According to data provided by the UNHCR, as of June 2015, there were 301,057 refugees, among
whom 300,000 were Indochinese refugees, and 564 asylum seekers in China.[7] Top countries of
origin for the non-Indochinese refugees and asylum seekers in China are Somalia, Nigeria, Iraq,
and Liberia
C. Inflows of Displaced Foreigners from Neighboring Countries
There have also been large-scale inflows of displaced foreigners from neighboring countries,
such as North Korea and Burma (Myanmar), whom the Chinese government generally does not
recognize as refugees.[9] Undocumented North Koreans who have crossed into China since the
mid-1990s are generally treated as illegal economic migrants.[10] For the more than 30,000
ethnic Kokangs displaced by armed conflicts in Burma who flooded into China in 2009, the
Chinese government promptly opened camps to host them and provided other humanitarian
assistance, although the authorities did not refer to them as refugees.
II. Legislation
China acceded to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol in
September 1982.[12] Despite its early accession to these treaties, the domestic law on refugees
and asylum is still under development. Currently, the only legal provisions relevant to refugees
are one article in the Constitution providing the general principle on asylum, and one article in
the Exit and Entry Law that gives legal status to refugees and asylum seekers. A comprehensive
refugee law that would cover a wider range of refugee issues is under consideration.

A. Constitution
Article 32 of the Constitution declares that China may grant asylum to foreigners who request it
for political reasons.[
B. 2012 Exit and Entry Law
In 2012, the PRC Law on the Administration of Exit and Entry (Exit and Entry Law) was
promulgated, which replaced two former exit and entry laws governing Chinese citizens and
foreigners, respectively.[14] Effective July 1, 2013, the new Exit and Entry Law contains a
provision that, for the first time, allows refugees and asylum seekers to obtain ID cards in China.
According to article 46 of the Exit and Entry Law, foreigners who apply for refugee status in China
may, during the screening process, stay in China with temporary identity certificates issued by
public security organs. Foreigners who are recognized as refugees may stay or reside in China
with the refugee identity certificates issued by public security organs.[15]
Article 46 is deemed a positive first step in providing a legal ground for refugees to live in China.
Recognizing that refugees and asylum seekers are entitled to ID cards, the law lays a foundation
for future enhancement of refugees rights in China, such as the right to work and the right to
education.
C. Draft Refugee Law
Efforts to forge a comprehensive refugee law were reportedly initiated in the 1990s, but so far
no draft laws have been released. In 2012, the draft Regulations on Determination of Status and
Administration of Refugees was prepared by Central Government authorities. If passed, the
Regulations would address the definition of refugees, competent authorities in charge of refugee
affairs, refugee status determinations, temporary stays and repatriation of refugees, and loss
and removal of refugee status
III. Refugee and Asylum Issues
Although there is only one article in the Exit and Entry Law specifically governing refugees,
refugees and asylum seekers in China are subject to other provisions of that Law governing
foreigners and stateless persons, as well as other relevant Chinese laws.
A. Admission of Refugees and Handling Refugee Claims
Other than article 46 of the Exit and Entry Law, there are no legal provisions specifically
regulating the admission of refugees and handling refugee claims under Chinese law. Nor is
there an explicit, competent authority in charge of refugee affairs. The Ministry of Public
Security should be responsible for matters relevant to refugee status recognition and
repatriation of refugees and the Ministry of Civil Affairs should attend to refugee resettlement,
but no law explicitly authorizes them as the competent authorities.[18]
In practice, refugee registration and refugee status determinations for non-Indochinese refugees
are generally conducted by the UNHCR Beijing Office.[19] According to the Office, it generally
has access to asylum seekers who are in Beijing and conducts refugee status determinations.
Recognized refugees are permitted to remain temporarily in China while the UNHCR is seeking a
durable solution, which most of the time involves resettlement in a third country.
B. Refugees Arriving at the Border
Article 20 of the Exit and Entry Law allows any foreigners who need to enter China urgently for
humanitarian reasons to apply for visas to enter China before the visa-issuing authorities at
their port of entry. The Law, however, also requires that such foreigners possess supporting
materials proving that relevant Chinese authorities have preapproved their application for a visa
at a port of entry.[21]
According to a UNHCR officer, refugees in China normally enter the country with valid visas,
mostly student visas and some tourist visas, due to strict border control.
C. Recent Adjustments
China does not appear to have made adjustments or amendments to its refugee law in response
to the current refugee crisis.
D. Refugee Status Determination
The refugee status determination is generally conducted by the UNHCR Beijing Office and
Chinese authorities have not substantially engaged themselves in the UNHCR process, according
to the UNHCR Beijing Office. Refugees are recognized under the UNHCRs mandate.
E. Accommodations and Assistance Provided to Refugees
Non-Indochinese refugees in China are generally treated as aliens who have no right to
employment. They are supported by the UNHCR in terms of food, accommodation, health care,
and childrens education.[24]
In November 2013, the UNHCR reported that refugee children in five Chinese provinces were
allowed to attend public schools at the primary level under the same conditions as
local children.[25]
F. Accepting Refugees for Resettlement
In 1981 and 1982, China provided resettlement opportunities for some 2,500 Laotian and a]
small number of Cambodian refugees from camps in Thailand. While most of them voluntarily
repatriated, some chose to stay in China.[26
G. Path to Naturalization
In general, as provided by Chinas Nationality Law, a foreign national or stateless person who is
willing to abide by Chinas Constitution and laws may be naturalized as a Chinese citizen upon
approval of the application, as long as he or she (1) is a close relative of a Chinese national, (2)
has settled in China, or (3) has other legitimate reasons.[27] In practice, naturalization may be
rare other than through marriage or a great contribution to the country.[28]
A foreigner who has entered the country holding a temporary stay visa may be granted a
residence permit, according to the Exit and Entry Law, if he or she has a special talent or is an
investor as stipulated by the state, or based on humanitarian reasons.[29] The Law also provides
that a foreigner who has made remarkable contributions to Chinas economic and social
development or meets other conditions may be granted permanent residence in China.

H. Stay and Residence

The Exit and Entry Law requires all foreigners in China aged sixteen or above to carry their
passports, other international travel documents, or foreigner stay or residence permits for
examination by public security organs.[31]
Furthermore, foreigners who reside in China must submit their residence permits to the local
public security organs of any place they reside for examination.[32] For those who temporarily
stay in hotels, the hotels are required by law to register foreigners information and report their
information to the local public security organs. For those who stay or reside in domiciles other
than hotels, the foreigners themselves or persons who accommodate them must register the
foreigners with the local public security organs within twenty-four hours of their arrival
Why China Isnt Hosting Syrian Refugees
The economy of the worlds most populous country would ultimately benefit from an influx of
refugees, but the governments reluctance has nothing to do with economics.
The civil war in Syria, now spanning almost half a decade, and the Islamic States territorial
advances there have led to the worlds worst refugee crisis in decades. More than
4.7 million Syrians have left their homeland, pouring into neighboring countries as well as
Europe. The influx of refugees has strained resources in the region and fomented xenophobia
and nativism in countries throughout Europe, helping to buoy the rise of extreme right-wing
parties there.
But China, the worlds most populous nation and its second largest economy, has sat on the
sidelines. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Beijing, by the end
of August 2015, there were nine refugees and 26 asylum seekers from Syria in China. They were
among the 795 UN-registered persons of concern, or displaced people, mainly from Somalia,
Nigeria, Iraq, and Liberia living in China temporarily while waiting to be transferred. The East
Asian giant faces complex political, demographic, religious, and economic challenges that have
prevented it from considering allowing migrants inside its borders. Even so, if China is to become
a responsible global power, the country must reevaluate the ideology that has prevented it from
taking
Chineseanauthorities
active roleargue
in ameliorating a global
that Western crisis.caused the meltdown in Syria that resulted in
countries
the mass exodus, making its resolution their responsibility. In an October 2015 opinion piece in
Communist Party mouthpiece Peoples Daily, Wu Sike, former Chinese Ambassador to Egypt and
Saudi Arabia and former Special Envoy on the Middle East, argued that the Middle East
democratization agenda of the United States and its allies lies at the root of the migrant
refugee crisis. In a Feb. 15 piece in party journal Seeking Truth, Zhang Weiwei, director of the
Center for China Development
Model Research at Fudan University in Shanghai, contended that the European refugee crisis is
a price that Western countries must pay for their arrogance. Chinese web users largely
agreed. After the photos of Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdis body washed up on a Turkish beach
went viral in September 2015, netizens in China shared in the grief and largely blamed the
United States for the chaos in Syria which had led to the boys drowning.
Regardless of the validity of this outlook, however, it is non-western countries with little
economic power and precarious security situations that are bearing the brunt of the displaced
population. Statistics from the nonprofit Amnesty International show that while Turkey,
Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt have absorbed more than 4.5 million Syrian refugees, other
countries around the world have offered to resettle less than 200,000. Such numbers would be a
mere drop in the bucket for a country with the population, land area, and raw economic might
of China.
Even if, China were to host all 4.7 million Syrian refugees, that would only amount to 3.5
refugees per every 1,000 inhabitants thats a far lower proportion than even Turkey, at 23.7
refugees per 1,000 inhabitants, actually hosted in 2015. The per capita GDPs of China and Jordan
are roughly equal $4,515 and $4,371, respectively, according to recent data from the World
Bank. But by mid-2015, Jordan was hosting 685,000 displaced people of multiple nationalities.
Jordans population is 6.6 million; Chinas is over 1.3 billion.
Yet China almost certainly will not adopt a refugee resettlement plan that will help relieve the
heavy burden faced by the other developing countries in the region currently overwhelmed by
the influx. China lacks the institutions conducive to supporting immigration on a mass scale.
Although it ratified the UNs Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1982, the country still
lacksrelated national institutions.
It was only in 2012 that China adopted a revised Entry-Exit Administration Law that allows public
security authorities to issue identity certificates to refugees and refugee status applicants.
According to an August 2015 UNHCR fact sheet, the Chinese government does not provide
assistance to refugees in China.
Then theres the Chinese green card, which provides only a narrow path to residency,
according to a memo by Melissa Lefkowitz, a program officer at the U.S.-Asia Law Institute at the
New York University School of Law. Chinas official statistics show that, as of 2013, only 7,300
among 600,000-plus foreigners living in China had permanent residence. (In 2013 alone,
almost a million people became permanent residents in the United States.) Naturalization is
extremely rare.
Chinese political ideology actively discourages the acceptance of non-Chinese migrants: non-
interference in other countries domestic affairs is the cornerstone of its foreign policy, and
accepting refugees is often viewed as demonstrating a political preference of the country of
origin. Beijing even claims its foreign aid has no political strings attached. Unlike major western
powers, China vehemently opposed external interference in Syria in particular military
intervention. By taking in refugees from the region, China could risk forsaking its diplomatic
principle and partaking in the fallout of a failed Middle East policy against which it had tried to
warn the West.
Theres also little public support for refugee resettlement. Beijing has long been heavy-handed
on population control, implementing a planned birth policy that has spanned decades, enforced
via draconian fines and penalties and even forced abortions and sterilizations. Although the
policy has become less strict in recent years, it would be a tough sell to the people if the
government suddenly allowed foreign refugees to populate the country.
Mirroring the concerns of some in Europe and the United States, religion is also a factor. Islam is
one of the religions whose practice is permitted in China, albeit with many preconditions. The
Chinese government exercises relatively fewer controls over the Muslim Hui ethnic group, due to
the groups cultural affinity and long-time integration with the majority Han Chinese. But in the
western region of Xinjiang, the native Muslim Uighur population of about 10 million has long
chafed at the close monitoring and often repressive regulation by a central government fearful
of secessionist political movements. A growing number of Uighur Muslims have fled to Turkey,
and over the last few years Uighurs have carried out several major terrorist attacks on civilians.
Taking in a large number of Muslim refugees from the Middle East could further complicate
Chinas religious landscape and identity politics.
The move would also be unpopular economically. During a 2015 UN summit, Chinese President
Xi Jinping pledged $2 billion and announced major debt forgiveness to assist the development in
poor countries. The international community welcomed the move, but domestic critics carped at
Chinas foreign-bound munificence, arguing that the government had overdone international
philanthropy when a large population at home was still below poverty line. The criticism was so
scathing that Beijing had to set its propaganda machine in motion to counter public opinion.
Given the current economic climate in China, with growth slowing substantially, the people
expect their government to use its financial resources to fix the economy, not help foreign
nationals.
But the reluctance to take in refugees is perhaps, at its root, a cultural problem. As the scholar
Benedict Anderson wrote, the nation is imagined as a community, because, regardless of the
actual inequality and exploitation that may prevail in each, the nation is always conceived as a
deep, horizontal comradeship. he narrative of nationhood of the United States is dynamic and
inclusive.
The country describes itself as a nation renewing itself through arrival of people leaving their
past behind and a place for the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Chinas narrative of
nationhood is more static and exclusive. It emphasizes shared history and common heritage.
Although Beijing advocates the concept of ethnic diversity, the rhetoric focuses on the symbiosis
of the 56 ethnic groups recognized by the government.
Chinas patchy refugee resettlement record speaks volumes about the narrow scope of the
national and cultural identity.
The last time China accepted refugees on a large scale was in 1979 during the Sino-
Vietnamese war. About 300,000 refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos were resettled in
rural areas in southwest China. These refugees were mainly of Chinese ethnic origin. By contrast,
when thousands of Rohingya refugees escaped Myanmar and Bangladesh in 2015 because of
persecution and poverty, China was almost irresponsive to this humanitarian crisis in its own
neighborhood.
To be sure, China does not stand alone in its reluctance to host refugees. Arab countries, such as
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and United Arab Emirates, as well as developed nations such as
Japan, Singapore, and South Korea all give Syrian refuges the cold shoulder. While the United
States resettles more refugees and asylum seekers than any other country in the world, it has
resettled just under 3,000 Syrians since 2011, according to the Refugee Processing Center, an
organization operated by the U.S. Department of State.
Still, China has sought a growing, if still largely reticent, role in the region. It has participated in
multilateral peace mediation, such as the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference, cohosted
by the United Kingdom, Germany, Kuwait and the United Nations, and the International Syria
Support Group, which includes the United States, the United Kingdom, the Arab League, the EU,
and others.
China also pledged a combined $135 million in humanitarian aid after Chinese President Xi
Jinpings tour of several Middle Eastern countries and participation in a recent G-20 summit.
If China aspires to rise among the global powers and meet the international expectations its
long courted, it has to pluck up the political courage to re-envision itself. Its got a lot to work
with. The East Asian giant boasts a stable, low unemployment rate. Its many large cities feature
extensive public transportation networks and lack the slums so common in many other
developing nations. And with a prematurely aging population, its facing a looming demographic
crisis; immigration could help prevent long-term economic stagnation associated with a shortage
of young workers and a growing number of retired dependents.
As international relations scholar Yan Xuetong noted, a new Chinese foreign policy could find
the source for its conduct in Confucian morality. The traditional Chinese system of ethics, as
Yan interpreted, asserts that the sphere of concern for any humane ruler should be the
whole world, not just the people of one state.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/02/26/china-host-syrian-islam-refugee-crisis-migrant/