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DE RUEHGZ #0176/01 0800816
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 210816Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0352
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0247
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0074
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0076
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0074
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0103
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 0059
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC 0007
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC 0007

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 
 
GUANGZHOU 00000176  002 OF 002 
 
 
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