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)