Guangzhou Creating “Expat Registry” in 3-Year Plan to Crackdown on Illegals
Many believe the main target is African expats
Charles Liu, July 23, 2015 9:24am
Guangzhou authorities have vowed to get tough on illegal foreigners with a three-year action plan that looks to establish an electronic registry of all expats alongside a campaign to improve sanitary and security conditions in residences rented to foreigners.
The crackdown is specifically targeting sanfei, a Chinese term that refers to a foreigner in China that has either illegally entered or is illegally living or working in China.
See Also: Slowing Economy and Discrimination Puts Brakes on African Immigration to Guangzhou
Although no particular ethnic or minority group is specifically mentioned in the new action plan, Guangzhou has often incurred problems with its African expat community, colloquially referred to as “Little Africa” and is one of the largest communities of African expats in Asia.
Ruan Qilin, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times that Guangzhou has many foreigners, mostly from Africa, and the plan might be the city’s response to complaints over security issues.
Ruan emphasized that the African community is not being unfairly targeted by the new initiative, though. “I believe the government is targeting misconduct, instead of a certain group of people, foreign or native,” he said.
See Also: African Expats Fight to Stay in Guangzhou as Policies Tighten
Last December, the Guangzhou police created a special team to specifically deal with unregistered foreigners. With the purpose of questioning foreigners and verifying their documentation, the team includes 30 SWAT officers, plainclothes policemen, and foreign language experts.
In explaining the reasoning behind the special police team, an unnamed Guangzhou exit and entry official told the Yangcheng Evening Report that some Africans behave violently and even attack police when being questioned, and three SWAT officer are required at the scene when an African is being questioned.
The official said five thin Chinese policemen cannot control one African who is “tall and strong”.
See Also: Guangdong tightens grip on “foreigner management”
Crackdowns on illegal foreigners have been common throughout the years, taking place in Guangzhou in2011 and 2014 while Beijing experienced one in 2012 after an expat was implicated in the rape of a local. Last year, 768 foreigners were deported from Guangzhou by local authorities between January and August.
The actual number of expats living in Guangzhou has been a topic of contention, with official records putting it at 118,000 while other sources put the number as high as 300,000. But as with many conversations about foreigners in Guangzhou, the topic usually returns back to the African community.
Last December when the Ebola outbreak sparked international panic, Guangzhou’s mayor reassured the public that the likelihood of a local outbreak of the deadly infectious disease was very unlikely since there are only 16,000 African expats officially registered in the city.
Police authorities have had a contentious relationship with the African community in Guangzhou. In 2012, hundreds of Africans blocked traffic as they protested outside a police station where a African expat died while being detained. Police say the man suddenly fell into a coma, and died despite efforts to save him. In 2009, the same police station was the scene of another show of public anger when a member of the African community jumped from the station’s roof.
https://thenanfang.com/guangzhou-announces-3-year-plan-crackdown-illegal-foreigners/
