Illegal Migration or Illegal Entry/Illegal Exit: Whatever

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 000176 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CVIS KTIP KFRD ASEC PGOV CH SUBJECT: Illegal Migration or Illegal Entry/Illegal Exit: Whatever you call it, Fujian Authorities and Guangzhou Consuls General Form Joint Working Group to Deal with It Sensitive but Unclassified. Not for Internet distribution. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: The Consul General -- in concert with five other Guangzhou-based Consuls General representing Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom -- discussed illegal immigration, visa fraud and human trafficking with Fujian provincial leaders, February 25-26. Their message: illegal migration and the high rate of visa fraud have tarnished Fujian's international reputation, affecting all aspects of business, cultural and educational exchanges. The Consuls General requested that Fujian authorities consider establishing a joint working group to address immigration and visa issues, providing a single institutional point of contact for issues related to document verification, and increasing opportunities for public outreach to educate Fujian on migration and visa policies. The British Consul General agreed to provide a consulate officer and member of the locally engaged staff to coordinate the first joint working group with Fujian authorities in late May or early June. The Consulate looks forward to Embassy Beijing and possibly Washington agency participation in that meeting. The Consulate also welcomes suggestions from Washington agencies regarding ways in which we can make the discussion more productive and ideas about any consular-related programs that might help us advance our engagement with Fujian. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. Establishment of a Working Group -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In late February, six Guangzhou-based consuls general -- representing Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States -- met jointly with provincial and municipal level authorities in Fujian Province to discuss visa, immigration and human smuggling issues of common concern. The six welcomed Fujian Foreign Affairs Office Director General Song Kening's agreement that we establish a working group of representatives from each of the six consulates general (and the local EU rep, if interested) and from Fujian's provincial and municipal departments and bureaus. The group would focus on enhancing cooperation to deter illegal migration through better education of potential migrants about the legal migration practices in foreign countries. We would also exchange views on document verification procedures and cooperate on identifying and deterring criminals involved on the sending side, i.e. in Fujian. ¶3. (SBU) The Chinese side proposed that the first working group meeting take place in Guangzhou in late May or early June, to be followed at appropriate intervals with meetings held alternately in Guangzhou and Fujian. After noting that the real keys to combating illegal migration were to increase job opportunities and to raise the quality of life in Fujian, Zhang Zhinan, the Vice Governor responsible for public security and border control matters, firmly endorsed the working group idea. The British CG, with the concurrence of his home office, has agreed to provide a consulate officer and member of the locally engaged staff to coordinate approaches to the Fujian authorities to realize our mutual objectives. A Single Institutional Point of Contact, Please -------------- -- ¶4. (SBU) The Consuls General called for improved cooperation on document verification and suggested both sides focus on the legitimacy of residency, travel, educational and employment records. They urged Fujian authorities to provide information which would allow consular officials from all six countries to better distinguish between qualified and unqualified visa applicants. Fujian authorities took under advisement the Consuls' General request for a single institutional point of contact on the Chinese side. A Question of Reputation -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The Consuls General all noted that many foreigners associate Fujian province with illegal migration. The French CG said that problems in 2008 involving travelers from Fujian had since forced his (and other consulates') visa officers in Guangzhou to closely scrutinize applications originating from the province. The German CG said that, while the German Consulate in Guangzhou boasts an overall visa approval rate of approximately 70 percent, it only issues visas to roughly 25 percent of applicants from Fujian. The Australian CG added that his Consulate had detected fraud in up to GUANGZHOU 00000176 002 OF 002 97 percent of student visas in some cases, with an overall refusal rate of up to 80 percent for Fujian applicants. The message from the CGs: "Fujian Province should not allow illegal migration to define its reputation." Educating Visa Applicants a Priority -------------- ¶6. (SBU) A public outreach effort to educate potential applicants about the importance of acquiring visas through legal channels should be a top priority, the CGs told the heads of provincial bureaus responsible for immigration and security. The UK CG said that many students were refused visas when using fraudulent documents, making a good case a bad one. Current British law, he pointed out, barred such applicants from reapplying for ten years. (The U.S. CG added that we might permanently bar such applicants for life.) All CGs characterized the situation as "a loss for them and for us." ¶7. (SBU) The UK CG added that cooperation with Fujian universities to educate students about the importance of submitting truthful visa applications had proven successful. He said that, since the program began, student applicants from Xiamen University had enjoyed a 90 percent approval rate and that at Fujian Normal University -- where the program is still in its early stages -- applicants currently enjoyed a 100 percent approval rate. The UK CG said that an important step was encouraging applicant to seek visa information directly from the UK Consulate, not through visa brokers. ¶8. (SBU) All six consulates offered assistance on public outreach to educate Fujian on migration policies. This outreach could be as simple as sending consular, public affairs, security and police officials to Fujian for in-depth public discussions on immigration regulations and the importance of using legal channels to obtain legitimate travel documents. The Consuls General also discussed the possibility of working in conjunction with Fujian media to improve public access to reliable (and free) visa and immigration information; they said they were prepared to write articles for local papers and update websites with a focus on their migration and consular practices. The U.S. CG pledged to personally visit Fujian and engage with local media as often as necessary to convey America's policy of Open Doors, Secure Borders. Targeting the Criminals, not the Victims -------------- ¶9. (SBU) All six consuls general emphasized their desire to work with the appropriate police and border officials to target the criminal producers of fraudulent documents and the recruiters of individuals for human smuggling. At the same time, said the CGs, those who had been trafficked but returned to China should be considered victims of the human smuggling trade, and should not face unreasonable legal consequences. During a meeting with the executive vice mayor of Fuqing, which is a source-city for an enormous amount of illegal immigration, the German CG asserted that some migrants fear reprisals if they return to Fujian, a situation that highlights the importance of combating the notion they will be harshly dealt with. Though submitting fraudulent documents in the visa application process is not necessarily illegal from a Chinese legal standpoint, the resulting criminal activity violates Chinese law, observed the Australian CG in another meeting. Exhibiting the Characteristics of Organized Crime -------------- -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Illegal immigration and human smuggling contribute to other criminal activities in the countries of destination, the Australian CG told Fujian authorities. He went on to say that people smuggled to the United Kingdom and to Australia are sometimes forced into criminal activity in those countries. The Canadian CG echoed these comments, saying that there was growing evidence of illegal immigrants being compelled to engage in illegal activities in Canada to pay off debts related to their transit. Moreover, statistics show a "large-scale effort to secure fraudulent visas" through the production of false identification papers, false academic records -- including English fluency certification -- fake financial records and fake "call centers" to confirm ostensible employment or school enrollment, according to the Australian CG. Taken together, he assessed that Fujian's illegal immigration and visa fraud issues "exhibit the characteristics of organized crime." GOLDBERG