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R 300906Z MAY 07
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6095
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
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UNCLAS GUANGZHOU 000618 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USPACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM SOCI PGOV ECON CH
SUBJECT: Guangxi: Trafficking on the Vietnam Border 
 
REF: A) Guangzhou 208 
 
THIS DOCUMENT IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  IT SHOULD NOT BE 
DISSEMINATED OUTSIDE OF U.S. GOVERNMENT CHANNELS OR IN ANY PUBLIC 
FORUM WITHOUT THE WRITTEN CONCURRENCE OF THE ORIGINATOR.  IT SHOULD 
NOT BE POSTED ON THE INTERNET. 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY and COMMENT:  Trafficking of sex workers and spouses 
from Vietnam continues but cooperation between the Vietnam diplomats 
and Chinese authorities is good, according to Nanning-based Vietnam 
Consulate General.  A China-announced repatriation center for 
Vietnamese trafficked victims, which had earlier been discussed in 
PRC newspapers as a symbol of assistance to trafficked individuals, 
apparently does not exist.  END SUMMARY and COMMENT. 
 
Trafficking between Vietnam and China 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) In a late May meeting with the Consul General in Guangxi's 
capital, Nanning, Vietnamese Consul General Tran Dui Hai commented 
that trafficking is a complex problem found at any border.  During 
the meeting, a follow-up to a February meeting with the Vietnam 
Consulate General in Guangzhou (reftel), Tran said that cooperation 
between his office and Chinese authorities was excellent.  Vietnam 
does not view trafficked persons as criminals but assists victims, 
once identified as Vietnamese citizens, in returning to their 
families, according to Tran.  Surprisingly, though the Chinese have 
previously cited the 2005 creation of a Repatriation Center for 
trafficked Vietnamese in Guangxi as an example of border 
cooperation, Tran said no such center exists.  (This likely explains 
why an earlier request to visit the center was rejected by the 
Guangxi Public Security Bureau (PSB).) 
 
¶3.  (U) Tran said that when the PSB contacts the Consulate regarding 
a potential victim, the Consulate confirms the person is a 
Vietnamese national.  That process may take from one to several 
months.  Afterwards, the PSB will issue an exit permit (tong xing 
zheng) to the person to depart China and the Nanning Consulate will 
assist the person in returning to Vietnam by providing bus fare if 
needed.  The PSB will often provide support victims during the 
waiting period until they are confirmed as Vietnamese nationals. 
Tran noted that the Women's Federation of China was active on the 
border and could help victims. 
 
¶4.  (U) Tran said that in 2006, the PSB brought 250 cases to his 
attention by the PSB, of which 150 were repatriated to Vietnam.  The 
remainder, many of whom are Vietnamese, are still in prison in China 
for unspecified criminal activities.  Most trafficked victims are 
brought to China for marriage or the sex trade, though this problem 
was greater in Kunming, Yunnan, than in Nanning, according to Tran. 
Most victims remain in border areas, though some have gone to 
central and northern China. 
 
¶5.  (U) Tran commented that Chinese are trafficked or smuggled to 
third countries via Vietnam, with traffickers using false U.S. and 
Hong Kong passports.  Many are children, aged three-to-five years 
old; they tend to be sent to France based on a Hong Kong passport, 
which had been used to obtain a French visa.  Some Chinese women use 
false U.S. passports to travel to the EU. 
 
¶6.  (U) Tran noted that Guangxi had 2,000 Vietnamese students, 
mostly in Nanning (1400) and Guilin (600), and 150 long-term 
Vietnamese residents.  He was unable to cite statistics on numbers 
of business person, farmers, or border traders coming to Guangxi. 
 
GOLDBERG