China Immigration Inspection
| China Immigration Inspection 中国边检 | |
|---|---|
 Badge of the People's Police | |
 Agency Seal (used in checkpoints) with its name in Chinese calligraphy written by Qigong | |
| Abbreviation | CII |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | November 9, 2018 |
| Legal personality | Law enforcement agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | China |
| Legal jurisdiction | Mainland China |
| Governing body | State Council, Central People's Government |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Overseen by | Discipline Inspection and Supervision Team of the National Supervisory Commission of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Ministry of Public Security |
| Headquarters | Beijing |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent agency | National Immigration Administration of the Ministry of Public Security |
China Immigration Inspection (CII; 中国边检) is the entry port immigration checkpoints law enforcement service under the National Immigration Administration, an agency managed by the Ministry of Public Security.[1]
History
[edit]In 1988, the frontier inspection stations of 9 cities: Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Xiamen, Haikou, and Shantou engaged in a reform of the active duty system to change the uniform of border inspection officer to that of the people's police (人民警察). Other border checkpoint officers continued to wear the uniforms of the People's Armed Police (PAP). On December 31, 2018, under newly announced reforms, all entry-exit border checkpoints across China were unified under the control of the newly created the National Immigration Administration.[2]
On March 21, 2018, according to the document: "Deepening the Reform of Party and State Institutions" issued by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party stated that public security border troops would no longer be listed as armed police forces, and all existing forces would be retired from active service.[3]
On January 1, 2019, the public security border guards held a collective change-up ceremony to reorganize and professionalize border inspection agencies across the country.[4]
The provincial (regional) entry-exit border inspection station was adjusted and the border management corps of the public security department of the province (region) was added. Vertical integration by the National Immigration Administration occurred through the revocation of Shantou Entry-Exit Border Inspection General Station, Guangdong Province, Fujian Province, and Hainan Provincial Public Security Frontier Defense Corps.[5]
Organization
[edit]China Immigration Inspection (CII) operates as a child agency of MPS. They are responsible for safeguarding national sovereignty, security, social order, management, and transportation upon entry and exit.[6]
Administrative work related to visa issuance and residency registration are handled by the entry-exit administration bureaus of the public security bureaus of respective provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government. Chinese border authorities also administer entry and exit border inspection posts of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai,[7] Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Haikou.
In 2009, China had 277 border control checkpoints, covering entry into China by air, water and land in conjunction with CII (China Immigration Inspection).[8]
Enforcement of Exit Bans
[edit]The agency is responsible for the enforcement of controversial exit bans, which restrict the ability of both Chinese citizens and foreign residents from leaving China, often on vaguely defined legal grounds with little to no warning.[9][10] In November 2018, two Chinese American citizens Victor and Cynthia Liu were barred from exiting China on the basis the sibling's father; a former state owned enterprise official was wanted by Chinese authorities on corruption and financial fraud charges.[11]
In May 2020, two other Chinese American citizens Daniel Hsu and Jodie Chen were also barred from leaving the country on the basis that Hsu's father embezzled some 447,874 RMB (US$62,000) while serving as the chairman of Shanghai Anhui Yu’an Industrial Corporation, a developer owned by the Anhui Provincial People's Government.[12] Despite Hsu himself not being subject to any charges, he and his wife were both denied exit.[12] Critics have often derided the use of exit bans as a form of collective punishment and in violation of basic human rights.[12]
The use exit bans and detentions on family members of corruption suspects is a frequent tactic employed by the Ministry of Public Security (CII's parent agency) to pressure suspects to return to China to face prosecution.[9] Exit bans also form the basis of China's social credit system in which delinquent debtors are placed on blacklists by Chinese courts which prevent them from leaving the country as a way of encouraging the payment of debts owed. As of 2017, some 6.7 million people had been subject to such treatment according to reporting from the Financial Times.[13]
Exit bans are also frequently used by the ministry to prevent political dissidents and activists from leaving the country as a way of suppressing and containing dissent within overseas Chinese diaspora communities. Although exact numbers are unclear, the total estimated number of dissidents and political activists prevented from leaving the country is said to reach into the tens of thousands according to a report by Foreign Policy.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ "解读：《出入境边防检查机关检查员专业能力等级评定办法（试行）》". www.nia.gov.cn. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
- ^ admin (2018-06-03). "China establishes new State Immigration Administration". Border Management. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
- ^ "公安边防、消防、警卫部队全部退出现役_新闻_腾讯网". news.qq.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2018. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ^ "新京报 - 好新闻，无止境". www.bjnews.com.cn. Archived from the original on December 25, 2018. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ^ "内蒙古自治区政府门户网站 图片新闻 中华人民共和国内蒙古出入境边防检查总站挂牌仪式举行". 2020-11-16. Archived from the original on 2020-11-16. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ^ "Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection". sh-immigration.gov.cn. Retrieved 2017-04-27.
- ^ "Entry and Exit Inspection". en.shairport.com. Archived from the original on 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2017-04-12.
- ^ Ishida, M. (2013-07-26). Border Economies in the Greater Mekong Sub-region. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-30291-5.
- ^ a b "China 'barring thousands of citizens and foreigners from leaving country'". The Guardian. Reuters. 2023-05-02. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
- ^ "No Exit: China's Growing Use of Exit Bans Violates International Law". Lawfare. 2019-01-16. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
- ^ "China lets US siblings return home after three years". BBC News. 2021-09-28. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
- ^ a b c "US couple's nightmare: Held in China, away from daughter". Associated Press. 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
- ^ "China penalises 6.7m debtors with travel ban". Financial Times. 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
- ^ Sile, Thomas Kellogg, Zhao (23 July 2019). "China's Dissidents Can't Leave". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)