In 2017, more than 130 million Chinese citizens with private passports are expected to go abroad, a record high. As more and more Chinese go abroad to travel, study and develop overseas, Chinese security issues overseas have increasingly become a hot spot for the Chinese government and ordinary people.
Text/Zhang Lili Zhang Yuyan
In the first half of 2017, the number of Chinese citizens with private passports abroad reached 62.03 million, an increase of 5.1% over the same period in 2016; it is expected to reach more than 130 million in 2017, another record high.
As more and more Chinese go abroad to travel, study and develop overseas, their overseas security issues have increasingly become a hot spot for the Chinese government and ordinary people, and China's existing consular protection system also needs to be reformed and strengthened.
The risk of "going out"
The risks of Chinese "going out" mainly include political risks in destination countries, natural disaster risks and personal safety risks.
Political risk mainly refers to extreme political events such as government change and civil war in the destination country. For example, the conflicts in Libya, Syria, Yemen and other countries in recent years have posed a serious threat to the lives and property of Chinese workers working there.
The risk of natural disasters mainly refers to serious natural disasters such as sudden earthquakes and tsunamis in the destination country. For example, in November 2017, the Agung Volcano in Bali, Indonesia, continued to erupt violently, seriously affecting the safety of tens of thousands of Chinese traveling there.
Personal safety risk mainly refers to the risk of Chinese encountering vicious crimes such as robbery, murder and rape in the country of destination. It is worth mentioning that with the increasing number of Chinese traveling, studying and developing overseas, the Chinese are increasingly likely to suffer such risks overseas, which are scattered, sudden and imperceptible, and do not distinguish between developed and developing countries. Such risks not only cause great harm to the parties, but also put forward higher requirements for China's consular protection mechanism.
Strengthen early warning and legislation
At present, publicity and advance warning related to consular protection have become an important part of the work of China's foreign affairs departments and consular institutions, which has played an important role in reducing the chances of Chinese citizens and institutions encountering danger overseas. For example, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China has launched columns on its website such as "Travel Advice", "Special Reminder for Going Abroad" and "Precautions for Going Abroad" to timely release credible information on the safety of citizens going abroad, strengthen publicity and education for those who go abroad, popularize consular protection knowledge, and remind Chinese citizens to fully understand overseas security risks and correctly understand their responsibilities and obligations.
In addition, China's consular protection work must also strengthen the legislative work in relevant aspects to further protect the safety of Chinese citizens' overseas lives and property in accordance with the law.
The claim system needs to be expanded
Statistics show that at present, the number of Chinese citizens holding private passports is 120 million, which means that more than 90% of the Chinese have not yet applied for private passports, and the future growth space of Chinese "going out" is huge, and it is difficult to meet the needs of future Chinese going abroad by relying on the existing consular insurance system alone.
While the relevant departments of the central government perform their duties, strengthen cooperation and mutual support, we must vigorously give play to the role of local governments in the construction of the consular protection mechanism, and promote their exploration and innovation experience. Local governments can play an active role in training, teaching and organizing territorial enterprises and residents before going overseas, and can also provide more targeted insurance information services for territorial enterprises and residents. For example, the foreign-related security project established by the Beijing Municipal Foreign Affairs Office in August 2016 includes overseas security early warning and consular protection information services, and forward-lookingly proposes to "turn passive response after the fact into active monitoring and early warning in advance". Over the past year or so, it has provided a large number of timely and useful reference information for Residents and Enterprises in Beijing to "go global".
It can also play an assisting role in various organizations in society, including public welfare institutions. Because of their unofficial status, such social organizations can play an irreplaceable role in terms of professionalism and flexibility. For example, in dealing with the Malaysia Airlines incident, the Chinese government has drawn on the strength of three local social organizations: the Malaysian-Chinese Trade Union, the Malaysian Charity Association and the Tzu Chi Association. These three institutions provided 24-hour language translation, psychological counseling and life assistance services to the Chinese family members involved in the Malaysia Airlines incident, which was of great help to China in successfully handling the Malaysia Airlines incident.
(Professor of China Foreign Affairs College of Zhang Lili Department, PhD student of Chinese Min University in Zhang Yuyan Department)