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

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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