Making due contribution to migration cooperation

CHINA BECAME THE 165TH MEMBER of the International Organization for Migration, after its application to join the organization was approved on June 30. Beijing News commented on Tuesday:

The International Organization for Migration was founded in 1951 to help manage global migration issues, including providing training and accommodation to immigrants around the world. Joining the international organization will strengthen China's management of refugee affairs and help the country's socioeconomic development, according to Hong Lei, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In effect, China has been contributing to global immigration affairs for decades. It signed both the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1982, and has since then been accommodating refugees. At least 310,000 refugees, whose origins range from Vietnam, Afghanistan, and India to Sri Lanka and Myanmar, have managed to resettle in China.

Why China has fulfilled its humanitarian duty to take in international refugees, without falling victim to a refugee crisis like the one Europe is facing, is not difficult to explain. The endless unrest and volatile regional order in the Middle East have created a large number of people seeking refuge in nearby Europe.

Of course, most countries have very strict requirements that all asylum-seekers have to meet in order to stay. Besides, refugees normally have to find employment if they want to stay permanently.

However, China is yet to allow refugees to work for local employers, which is something that needs to be changed.