Beijing gets stricter with welcome

Authorities tighten checks on foreigners' visas to curb rising crime by visitors

Inevitably, with increasing numbers of foreign visitors to a prospering China, there comes a rise in the number who break the laws of the country.

An online viral video last week of a drunken British tourist assaulting a girl in Beijing, and in turn being beaten up by local residents, was not a good image for anybody.

But it came at a time when authorities in the capital already decided they'd had enough of errant foreigners who overstayed or abused their welcome.

On May 15, city police launched a campaign to curb the illegal entry, residence and employment of foreign nationals. Beijing is home to about 120,000 foreign residents.

Under the new scrutiny, foreign visitors, tourists and expats are required to carry their passports and accommodation registration documents with them - at least until the end of August when the operation is due to end.

The municipal police authority says checks carried out are aimed at making sure each foreigner is aware of Chinese exit-entry regulations.

One might say the campaign is aimed at deterring as much as uncovering illegalities.

Crimes and misdemeanors involving foreigners have risen, according to Dai Peng, director of the criminal investigation department under the Chinese People's Public Security University.

"It (the campaign) is not a threat to foreigners. Instead, it's part of the regular work and normal judicial management of the Chinese police," Dai said. It's also a way to show the rest of the world that China is enforcing its visa rules.

"China has opened its doors, which also means it expects foreigners to respect and obey Chinese laws and regulations if they come here," he said.

But the authorities are trying not to be heavy-handed about it.

Lin Song, a senior passport control officer at Beijing Public Security Bureau's exit-entry administration, says he and his colleagues had posted notices about the visa status checks around the capital and were having face-to-face meetings with foreigners.

"We will be publicizing information in areas where foreigners always get together, such as Sanlitun in Chaoyang district and the universities in Haidian district," Lin said.

The bureau has already posted notices in Wangjing, in Chaoyang, where about 40,000 foreigners live, mostly Koreans, and has asked colleges in Haidian to inform foreign students of the checks.

"We will also deploy more officers to carry out checks at hotels, embassies and customs checkpoints," he said.

Beijing, which is second to Shanghai in the number of foreigners with residency permits, has recorded 13,000 cases since 2008 of illegal entry, overstaying or illegal employment involving visitors from more than 100 countries.

"Some foreigners, whose visas expired, couldn't afford tickets back to their countries and were afraid to find normal jobs in China. Instead, they committed crimes," Lin said.

No surprise then that a hotline to receive tip-offs about illegal residents has been set up by police as part of the campaign. And in a more preventive move, a text messaging system reminding foreigners that their visa is to expire soon is also being used, Lin added.

Companies or individuals who hire foreigners without the necessary paperwork will have to terminate employment. They will also face fines ranging from 5,000 yuan ($791; 621 euros) to 50,000 yuan and may have to pay for their illicit employee's deportation, according to regulations backing the campaign.

"For foreigners who illegally stay, we'll give them a fine and administrative detention for up to 10 days," Lin said, adding that landlords will also be held responsible and will face punishment if the police find they have been intentionally housing an illegal foreign resident.

If foreign nationals enter Beijing illegally, they will be fined up to 10,000 yuan and face at least three days in administrative custody, Lin said.

"If the illegal entry, stay and employment of foreigners is serious, police can order them to leave the country within a certain time or deport them," he stressed.

Other major cities, all with large contingents of expats, have yet to reveal whether they are considering taking the same action as Beijing. Only Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan, plans to launch a similar campaign by the end of this year, Wang Lin, deputy director of Chengdu exit and entry administration bureau, confirmed.

Yang Huanning, the country's deputy minister of public security, told government lawmakers recently that foreigners working without an authorized permit in China were mostly language teachers, performers, and domestic helpers, while most illegal immigrants came from neighboring countries.

The number of foreigners who stayed for at least six months rose to 600,000 in 2011, he said. There were fewer than 20,000 in 1980.

Yang said it had been difficult to tighten controls due to a lack of repatriation centers and because of language barriers.

Feng Xia, a professor of international law at China University of Political Science and Law, said foreigners in the country should be treated equally to Chinese residents, and face the same punishment if they broke the law.

"Foreigners should have some knowledge of Chinese regulations and laws before they come and work here, while Chinese police procedures should be more suited to dealing with foreigners," Feng said.

She believed the stricter measures introduced by the exit-entry administration will prove effective. Meanwhile, she suggested that other administrations, especially departments dealing with foreign affairs, should supply relevant information, such as tour, employment and living requirements, on their official websites in different languages.

"That will make it more convenient for foreigners to make themselves aware of Chinese regulations," she said.

Wu Ming'an, also a law professor at the university, said the current campaign in Beijing will remind, or warn, foreigners to obey Chinese exit-entry regulations.

"No matter who you are, if you come to China, you should conduct yourselves in line with Chinese law and respect our country's rules," he said.

Yang Lin, an attorney at Ying Ke Law Firm who specializes in cases involving foreign nationals, suggested police distribute brochures highlighting relevant Chinese regulations for foreigners in different languages at the airport.

"After all, many foreigners know nothing about local laws and regulations, and police should tackle the problem at the source," she said.

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn