PARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
BEIJING BORDER CONTROL OF THE ENTRY AND EXIT
ADMINISTRATION
Man Ju You*
I. THE OVERALL SITUATION OF SMUGGLING OF MIGRANTS IN CHINA, AND THE
ATTITUDE, STANDPOINT AND COUNTERMEASURES OF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENTAGAINST ILLEGAL MIGRANTS
This paper summarizes the organization of China’s entry and exit administration and its chieffunctions; attitude and standpoint of the Chinese government against illegal migration; and the toughmeasures adopted by the Chinese government against illegal migration. The paper also gives a brief
introduction to the general situation and current tendency of illegal migration in China as well as somestatistical figures.
II. AN INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE ENTRY AND EXIT ADMINISTRATION AND
ATTITUDE, STANDPOINT AND COUNTERMEASURES OF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENTAGAINST ILLEGAL MIGRANTS
A. Brief Introduction to Chinese Entry and Exit Administration
The Bureau of Entry and Exit Administration is subordinated to the Ministry of Public Security of
P.R.C. Its functions include the control of entry, transit, residence and travel of foreigners as well as
issuing visas and travel document to them; approval of exit and entry of Chinese citizens when they goabroad or go to Hong Kong, the Macaw Special Administration Region and Taiwan for private purposes
and issuing passports and other certificates to them; conducting the inspection on travelers as well asmeans of transport entering and exiting China at all open ports; and dealing with cases that break theentry and exit administration laws and regulations of China.
At present, China has 265 frontier inspection stations at ports open to the outside world in its 30
provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. Among them, there are 72 land ports, 138 seaports
and 55 airports. With the further carrying out of China’s open-up policy, all the frontier inspection
stations have the heavy burden of inspecting millions of travelers. However they seriously perform thetask of combating illegal migration.
B. Attitude and Standpoint of the Chinese Government Against Illegal Migration
Illegal migration has become more and more of a serious problem that draws the attention of all
countries. In my opinion, the main causes of illegal migration are an unbalanced world economy,
warfare and natural disasters. Illegal migration caused by these reasons has a trend of being even more
serious in recent years and became a world issue that violates the normal order of exit and entry ofcountries, brings out other criminal activities and in turn will produce an impact on the stability of thesociety. Therefore, it is a common issue we are all facing together. Although it is difficult to eliminate
this issue completely in a short period, I believe it can be effectively contained through the joint effort ofus all.
The Chinese government has consistently promoted and encouraged the legal entry and exit ofinternational travelers, and stands firmly in strictly prohibiting illegal immigration, and has adopted
all necessary measures and done its utmost to ban illegal migration.
To be frank, there are some Chinese who are smuggled abroad in different ways. The Chinese
government’s policy on this matter is to accept all repatriation of the illegal migrants after verification
by China’s competent department that they were departing from Mainland China. Those who are* Deputy Chief ,Beijing Exit and Entry Control Department,
Beijing, People’s Republic of China

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 62
smuggled by sea shall be repatriated by ship in groups all together. We cannot agree with the practice ofsome countries that select and keep some of the smugglers while repatriate the rest. Neither do weagree with the policy of allowing illegal migrants to stay in the name of “refugees”. This is because suchpractice and policy may give illegal migrants more illusions and attract more people to risk humansmuggling.
C. Measures Adopted by the Chinese Government to Combat Illegal Migration in Recent
Years
1. Strengthening the Management of International Travel Documents and Improving Quality andAnti-forging Techniques in Chinese Passports and Other Certificates
The public security authorities of China have made great efforts to improve the quality of entry andexit certificates. The Chinese private passport has been redesigned eleven times. Now the 12th versionof the Chinese private passport has been put into use. The quality of the passport has been greatly
improved with the introduction of intaglio printing, rainbow printing, laser-printing and microform
marks. All these technological advances have made the 12 th version passport difficult to be
counterfeited. Besides, computer networks have linked all the entry and exit administration
departments at the municipal level and above; all passport information is stored on a national
database. Then we will set up networks connecting ports between ports and ports between documents
issuing offices. There is no doubt that all these measures will play a positive role in fighting illegal
migration.
2. Enhancing Exit-Entry Frontier Inspection and Fighting Illegal Crossing of National Borders
The Chinese entry-exit frontier inspection stations are in charge of inspection of all international
travelers. Chinese citizens departing China not only have their passports but also their visas examined.
By doing this, persons holding forged or fraudulent visas shall be prevented from departure. Suchspecial practice protects the legitimate rights of the Chinese citizens on the one hand, and keeps theforged documents bearers from leaving China on the other hand. Compared with the non-exitinspection practice of some countries, it shows the responsible concept of the Chinese government
towards the international community in matters of anti-illegal migration.
3. In the Campaign Against Illegal Migration, the Following Measures are Adopted in our InspectionWork(i) Establishing information notification system. China is a large country with long borders andmany open ports. To collect and send information about illegal migration in the shortest time is of greatvalue to joint action and full-scale guarding of all frontier stations all over the country. For instance,
after we get information about forged certificates and documents held by illegal migrants as well as
their routes and methods of smuggling, we immediately send the information to all ports to enhancetheir inspection.
(ii) Improvement in facilities of passport inspection. We purchased an “EDISON system” from theNetherlands and a “documentary 3000 system” from Switzerland and Britain, and installed them in
our major frontier inspection stations with the aim of identifying visas and passports and collecting
useful information in the fight against illegal migrants. With the help of the new equipment, the abilityof our inspectors to detect forgeries has been greatly improved. We are planning to purchase more
identifying apparatus and install more inspection stations.
(iii) Enhancing training. Now all our newly recruited inspectors are graduates from colleges anduniversities from all over the country. Before they take the inspection job, they must take a half-year's
professional training. Only those who pass the qualification exam can join the inspection task. Regularadvanced training and expert lectures are arranged for all inspectors to improve their juristicknowledge and inspecting skill. For instance, we have yearly nation-wide training courses forinspectors to improve their ability to crack down on illegal migration.
(iv) Conducting strict control and patrols at sea. To crack down on human smuggling along coastal
areas, the Coast Armed Police Force (CAPF) has been set up in provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi,
Fujian, Zhejiang and Hai’nan. The CAPF are well equipped, and can effectively and swiftly enforce

110122ND INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
their duty. In 1999, there were 1,300 cases of illegal migration detected in the coastal area with 9,129
illegal migrants and 925 organizers involved.
(v) Detecting and severely punishing the organizers of illegal migration. The existence of organizers
of illegal migration (in Chinese they are called “snake head”) is widely considered as one importantcause of illegal migrations. Therefore severe punishment of the smuggling organizers is urged to add tothe campaign against illegal migration. The criminal law of P.R.C. stipulates that organizers of illegal
migration shall be sentenced to a period of imprisonment from 2 to 7 years, together with a fine. Forvery serious cases imprisonment from 7 years to life is possible, as well as a fine or confiscation ofproperty. In recent years, a number of illegal migration organizers have been arrested and prosecuted.
According to incomplete statistics, in 1999, the Chinese frontier inspection stations arrested over 200
organizers of illegal migration. Meanwhile the names of organizers abroad are on our control list, sothat they cannot enter China to conduct any illegal activities.
(vi) Strengthening international cooperation. Up to now, in the field of containing illegal migration,
China has established effective cooperation with over 40 countries, and has signed agreements ormemorandums with over 30 countries. On January 13th 1999, we learned that a number of persons
would be smuggled to USA from Shanghai. Shortly after receiving the message we contacted therepresentative of Immigration and Neutralization Service (INS) of the United States in Beijing. On
April 24 th , the INS officers successfully arrested 2 illegal migrants and 2 escorting American
Vietnamese on the spot while they were destroying their passports and forged visas right after arriving
at Los Angeles airport. In Shanghai, the related criminals were detained at the same time. We havealso experienced many other successful cooperative efforts with other countries, including theNetherlands and Italy.
(vii) Heightening the consciousness of Chinese citizens against illegal migration through the mass
media. With the concept that the illegal migrants are not only misfeasors but also victims, we process
propaganda to the public on the aftermath of smuggling. In areas where the illegal emigration issue isserious, relevant institutions of local governments and social organizations are motivated to publicize
the harm of illegal migration and confirm the government’s standpoint against human smuggling.
Newspapers, radio and television programmes are broadly used.
III. OVERALL SITUATION AND TREND AS WELL AS STATISTICS ON SMUGGLING OF
MIGRANTS FROM 1997 TO 2001
A. The Overall Situation of Illegal Migration
1. Illegal Migrants Detected from 1997 to 2001
Table 1. Statistics on Illegal Migration Detected from 1997 to 2001

Year

Number
of
Entry
&Exit
Visitors

1997

Number of illegal migrants intercepted in China
Total

Forgery
Number

%

Other
Means

%

Organized
Smuggling%131198920

6635

2326

35.06%

3917

59.04%

392

5.91%

1998

142965080

6624

3064

46.26%

3219

48.60%

341

5.15%

1999

163512420

7027

4183

59.53%

2390

34.01%

454

6.46%

2000

187243600

7073

4067

57.50%

2642

37.25%

364

5.15%

2001

201897844

5558

3350

60.27%

1901

34.20%

307

5.52%

Notice: other means refer to hiding in means of transport, assuming other’s name and taking
unlawful procurement

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 62(i) With the increase in the number of exit and entry passengers, the number of illegal migrants
detected is also on the rise.
(ii) Bearing forged travel documents is the chief means of smuggling in open ports. And thepercentage of forgery bearers has been increasing year by year. The Chinese government has been
alerted to this trend.
(iii) The annual number of illegal migration organizers detected by the Chinese frontier inspection
institutes is 5 to 6% of smugglers detected. Some of the organizers are Chinese, yet most of them areforeign nationals who hold legal travel documents and are difficult to detect. They are wirepullers ofillegal migration and should be the focus of our strike.
2. Forged Documents from 1997 to 2001
Table 2. Breakdown of Forged Travel Documents from 1997 to 2001
Number of forged certificates and documents
Year
Total

ForgedStamp%

ForgedVisa%

ForgedCertificate

%

1997

2326

386

16.60%

423

18.19%

1517

65.22%

1998

3064

361

11.78

427

13.94%

2276

74.28%

1999

4183

339

8.10%

502

12.00%

3342

79.89%

2000

4067

234

5.75%

652

16.03%

3181

78.21%

2001

3350

498

14.87%

897

26.78

1955

58.36%(i) The percentage of forged certificates is on the increase. The main methods of forgery are photosubstitution, data-page substitution and data-page alteration. Photo-substitution is the most common
forgery, rating as much as 50% of the total. Although an entirely counterfeit travel document is seldom
used because of the technical difficulties, it still can be detected in practice owing to forgers using
advanced computer technology.
(ii) The number of forged visas has increased rapidly. The loss of blank visas by some countries
provides chances for the human smuggling syndicates.
(iii) The Chinese government conducts strict control over the exit of its citizens for private purposes,
especially over citizens who go abroad for the first time. Forgers may counterfeit exit and entry stamps
on a forged passport to make it look like one that has been used before; therefore the forgery of exit andentry stamps has also taken a certain proportion in the total number of forged documents.
3. Distribution of Illegal Migrants and their Destinations(i) Illegal emigrants in China come from three sources: natives of the boundary area, natives of thecoastal area and foreigners from developing nations.
(ii) The destinations of illegal migrants are mainly the developed western European countries. The
developed countries have an advanced economy with a high living standard and income. Some of thesecountries also provide welfare benefits to asylum seekers and some even grant amnesties to illegal
migrants. They are believed to be the main attraction to illegal migrations.
(iii) The illegal migrants mostly hold forged passports from China, Japan, Korea, US, Canada,
Singapore, Malaysia, France and New Zealand. The forged visas involve countries of Brazil, Venezuela,
Ecuador, Paraguay, Australia, US, South Africa, Bolivia, Spain, Greece, Belgium, Portugal andPanama.

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122ND INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
4. Illegal Migrants Detected by Major Frontier Inspection Stations 1998-2001
Table 3. Figures Of Illegal Migrants Detected by Major Frontier Inspection Stations
1998-2001
StationName

Year

Station
Name

1316

2000

BEIJING

673

HONGQIAO

711

2000

GAOQI

622

1998

BAIYUN696

2000

HONGQIAO

406

4

1998

GONGBEI

300

2000

LUOHU

345

5

1998

LUOHU

268

2000

BAIYUN

231

List

Year

1

1998

BEIJIN

2

1998

3

Year

Number
Detected

StationName

Number
Detected

Year

StationName

Number
Detected

Number
Detected

1

1999

BEIJIN

1259

2001

BEIJING

1391

2

1999

HONGQIAO

1060

2001

LUOHU

923

3

1999

GAOQI

711

2001

BAIYUN

539

4

1999

LUOHU

643

2001

HONGQIAO

408

5

1999

GONGBEI

388

2001

PUDONG280

The above frontier inspection stations are the biggest open ports in China. With the increasing
number of international travelers, illegal migration detected has increased at the same time. And it
also can be concluded that the forged document bearers tend to choose busy ports with good transportfacilities for departure.
5. Situation of Foreign Illegal Migrants in China
It is well known there are some Chinese citizens smuggled abroad. Meanwhile, China is also
troubled by illegal immigrants from overseas. It has negative effects on China’s social stability andeconomic development. In recent years, the illegal migrants have started to flow into China from someneighboring countries. The illegal migrants staying in China amount to tens of thousands. They aremainly scattered in the Guangxi Autonomous Region, Guangdong, Yunnan, Jilin and Liaoning
provinces. From 1995 to 1999, the number of persons that have gained illegal entry, illegal residence
and illegal employment in China amounts to over 70,000. However, 30,000 of them have been
repatriated.
Table 4. Forged Documents Held by Foreign Illegal Immigrants in China (1997-2001)
Number of forged certificates and documents
Year

Total

ForgedNumber

%

Other
Means

%

Organized
Smuggling

%

1997

270

124

45.93%

122

45.19%

24

8.89%

1998

256

109

42.58%

93

36.33%

54

21.09%

1999

255

128

50.20%

71

27.84%

56

21.96%

2000

452

192

42.48%

206

45.57%

54

11.95%

2001

638

527

82.60%

51

7.99%

60

9.40%

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 62
From the graph above, it shows:(i) The number of foreign illegal immigrants in China has been increasing with the development ofChina’s economy. A considerable number of them reside and work illegally in China. The problem has
raised the Chinese government’s attention.
(ii) The illegal migrants in China are mainly from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ghana,
Barbados, North Korea, Albania and Cameroon.
(iii) About 20% of illegal migrants are organizers of illegal migration. They induce, transport, andassist Chinese illegal migrants, and supply forged certificates and documents.
Table 5. Forged Documents Held by Foreign Illegal Immigrants in China (1997-2001)
Number of forged certificates and documents
Year
Total

ForgedStamp%

ForgedVisa%

ForgedCertificate

%

1997

124

6

4.84%

30

24.19%

88

70.97%

1998

109

18

16.51%

21

19.27%

70

64.22%

1999

128

16

12.50%

19

14.84%

93

72.66%

2000

192

23

11.98%

47

24.48%

122

63.54%

2001

287

59

20.56%

132

45.99%

96

33.45%In the case of foreign illegal migrants with forged travel documents entering China; bearing forgedpassports of other countries is the most common method. Forged passports involve passports of morethan 20 countries, U.S., Greece, Austria, Germany, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore and so on are amongsome of them.
B. Modus Operandi for Users of Forged Travel Documents to Enter and Exit
At present, the illegal crossing of national borders is syndicated, internationalized andintellectualized. The methods of falsification are more sophisticated and use advanced technology. This
demands that immigration authorities of all countries take more effective measures to meet thechallenge.
1. The Situation of Illegal Migration and Forged Certificates in China(i) Twice substitution of data-page. Users of these kinds of forgeries are mostly from certain coastal
provinces. It is not easy for natives of those areas to get visas legally owing to the high frequency ofillegal migration from those areas. Therefore, forgers substitute the inside front cover and inside backcover of the passport so that the issuing places have been changed into that of other provinces. Afterobtaining visas, the original covers are placed on this passport. After arriving at the visa-issuingcountry, the bearers would manage to turn to their real destination country. In such kind of forgery, theinformation on the passport corresponds to the holder; there is no substitution of photo; and the visa isgenuine as well. All these factors make it more difficult to be detected. Up till now, we have detected
hundreds of South Korean visas of such unlawful procurement.
(ii) Bearing legal certificates for departure, then taking forged certificates and documents to a third
country. When a Chinese citizen going abroad, submits their valid passports and visas to border checkposts for examination some illegal emigrants apply for visas that are easier to get, then they go to thevisa-issuing countries as a springboard on the strength of genuine documents and then turn to a third
country. (their Ultimate destination) Most of the illegal migrants detected in Dover used this method.
Cases of this kind have been increasing in recent years.

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122ND INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS(iii) Switching boarding passes. The illegal migrants prepare two sets of travel documents forswitching. With a boarding pass for a domestic flight or transit flight, the illegal emigrant sneaks into
the control area for international flights. Then he will switch his boarding pass with that of theinternational flight held by his cahoots who have plotted with him. After switching, he will destroy his
legal travel documents and take the flight with a forged one.
(iv) Colluding with staff of the port. Some human smuggling syndicates buy off staff at the ports toallow the smugglers to evade frontier inspection. In certain seaports, some captains of international
traveling ships were bribed to build hidden cabins in their ship to carry illegal migrants. Or they gothrough departure procedures for illegal migrants in the name of crewmembers. On 25th and 30th ofApril 2000, 7 illegal migrants were found hiding in containers to Britain, with the assistance of port
staff. On 2nd May 2000, 4 illegal migrants of the same kind were detected. Because of the participationof port staff, such illegal migration has a better chance of succeeding.
(v) Bearing stolen travel documents and visas. We have put information of stolen and lostcertificates and documents reported by other countries onto our blacklist. Many illegal migrants using
stolen travel document have been detected. According to our investigations, such kinds of smuggling
activities are usually organized by syndicates. The seals and signatures on these documents aredelicately forged. The syndicates are well informed, once one such case is detected, similar modus
operandi will be avoided immediately.
III. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
To make more progress in containing and cracking down on international illegal migration, theChinese entry and exit administration authority is willing to enhance cooperation with counterparts of
all countries and regions in a more comprehensive field. This includes:
A. Wider Exchanges of Information and IntelligenceTo crack illegal migration, comprehensive cooperation between countries is urged. No single country
can do the job all by its own. Exchanges shall include: informing each other of illegal migration
tendencies; enforcement and achievement on combating illegal migration, especially information about
illegal migration syndicates and organizers of illegal migration; and the latest trends of illegal
migration. Cooperation shall include: assisting counterpart’s investigation on illegal migration;exchange techniques; equipment; technology for identifying fraudulent documents; and notification oflost or stolen certificates and documents.
B. Strengthening the Cooperation on Repatriation of Illegal Migrants
China has always taken a positive and cooperative attitude on accepting illegal Chinese
emigrants. Those verified through our embassy abroad to be Chinese citizens are allowed back. We havecooperated very well on this issue with countries of Mexico, Australia, US, Japan, Italy, Netherlands
and regions of Hong Kong and Macau. From 1998 to the beginning of 2000, we have received 80,000
repatriated illegal Chinese emigrants.
Besides we require the repatriation of those illegal Chinese emigrants who claim to be so called“political asylum seekers”. We suggest the involved countries exchange information with us about
illegal immigrants directly coming from Mainland China. The information may include name, date ofbirth, and passport number, port of departure, time of departure. We believe such exchange will be ofgreat help to our combat against illegal migration.

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