The government, especially its diplomatic missions, is faced
with a huge challenge protecting citizens as more and more Chinese
spend time abroad studying, working, traveling and doing
business.
Official statistics suggest about 10,000 Chinese-funded
enterprises and institutions had been set up overseas by the end of
2004, with 640,000 people working in nearly 200 countries and
regions.
The number of outbound trips reached 28.5 million in 2004 and
22.8 million in the first three quarters of 2005.
Given a wider presence in the world, the lives and property of
Chinese citizens are being increasingly exposed to a wide range of
risks, such as natural disasters, terrorist bombings and violent
crime.
Widely reported incidents include the abduction of seven Chinese
nationals in war-ravaged Iraq in April 2004, the killings of three
Chinese visiting military officers in a terrorist attack in Amman,
Jordan on November 9, 2005 as well as the abuse of Chinese visitors
by Malaysian police late last year.
Chinese citizens were also among victims of natural disasters,
including the Indian Ocean tsunami that struck 14 countries and
killed an estimated 223,500 people in December 2004 and Hurricane
Katrina in the US in September 2005.
More Chinese business people have been involved in trade
disputes with local counterparts in a number of countries, such as
Russia, Spain, Italy and the Philippines.
Encouragingly, Chinese diplomats have been actively improving
their work to better protect Chinese citizens abroad.
The Foreign Ministry and its embassies and consulates handled
more than 20,000 consular protection cases involving Chinese
citizens in 2004 alone, the China Youth Daily recently
quoted Wei Wei, deputy director of consular affairs, as saying.
Consular protection covers personal safety, rights to abode,
property rights, employment rights, social welfare, humanitarian
treatment of citizens overseas and normal contact with
consulates.
Wei said the ministry has introduced a comprehensive system
consisting of coordination, early warning, emergency, information
and consultation mechanisms to ensure the safety of Chinese
citizens overseas.
To provide citizens abroad with better consular protection, Wei
said, the Department of Consular Affairs is considering the
establishment of a separate section to handle related matters.
China's diplomacy used to put too much emphasis on State affairs
and serving national interests, while caring little about the
personal affairs of individual citizens.
But the scientific concept of people-centered development
advocated by the new generation of Chinese leaders led by President
Hu
Jintao has facilitated the positive development in China's
diplomacy.
To put the concept into diplomatic practice, Foreign Minister Li
Zhaoxing once said Chinese diplomats should carry out more concrete
deeds to safeguard the legitimate interests of Chinese citizens,
including mainland people as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao
compatriots.
The historic shift should be welcomed because it suggests the
government has reinforced the legitimate interests of Chinese
individuals as an inseparable part of the country's overall
national interests.
The national interests of any country should not be just an
obscure political term. Instead, they should embody the legitimate
interests of all citizens.
So the government has a duty and responsibility to safeguard the
legitimate interests of its citizens abroad who have contributed to
the country's development with their hard work.
(China Daily January 4, 2006)
