A British man who allegedly molested a young Chinese woman appears to have prompted a new crackdown on foreigners in China illegally, according to the Global Times, a newspaper controlled by the Communist Party.
On Monday Beijing police announced a three-month campaign targeting foreigners illegally staying in the capital. In particular, the program is targeting the 20,000 foreigners thought to be in China with an expired visa or have a job without a work permit, according to the Exit-Entry Administration Department under the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.
“More policemen will be dispatched on the streets in the downtown area such as Sanlitun, asking questions and doing random checks,” according to a spokesperson for the Administration.
“Some foreigners do not know Chinese laws well and they might feel strange being randomly questioned by the police, but it is necessary to improve their legal awareness and make sure they stick to Chinese regulations,” she added.
The campaign will require police to check foreigners to ensure they have the necessary documents. The campaign also provides a hotline for Beijing residents to call to report visa violations.
The announcement of the campaign comes in the wake of a report that a British man was detained by police after allegedly molesting a young Chinese woman on May 8 in Beijing. A video captured a male bystander responding to screams for help from an 18-year-old girl who ha been thrown down onto a bed of flowers and was about to be mounted by a British man. He was joined by others who pushed the British man onto the ground and proceeded to beat him.
Most of the foreigners who are in the capital illegally do not have a proper job or a stable income source and have become a major source of crimes, said police.
“The key to solving this problem is to establish a long-term mechanism, such as an institution similar to an immigration office, rather than sporadic and temporary crackdowns that may leave a bad impression on foreigners and is not beneficial to the city’s development in the long run,” said Zhang Xin, an associate professor of public management at Renmin University of China.
The total number of foreigns entering and exiting mainland China in 2011 totaled 54.12 million, up 4% from the 52.11 million logged in 2010. In turn the 2010 figure represents a 133% increase over 2001.
An American who works for an international NGO in Beijing with only a one-year tourist visa said there are many foreigners like him working without a proper visa who have never been found out and punished. He said that Chinese procedures made it difficult to get a work visa.
Foreigners working in China need to acquire a work permit and legal documents, under a draft law proposed and discussed in late April by China’s lawmakers. The law would punish violators with deportation and a five-year ban from entering China.
