[imText1]The Chinese government should be prepared to grant refugee status to prisoners of war and abductees, Japanese abductees, and special political exiles.
Yanbian University professor Kim Gang Il, in a presentation titled “China’s Policy towards the Korean Peninsula and the Defector Issue” at the International Symposium on North Korean Human Rights sponsored by the National Human Rights Commission of South Korea on the 29th, stated as much, pointing out that “Among defectors, a considerable number of them actually clearly fall into the refugee category.”
Professor Kim explained that the Chinese government does not want the North Korean refugee issue to bring about yet more serious international concern because it already has enough troubles with its own domestic human rights issues. To this end, he introduced some ideas under the name, “North Koreans in China: Challenges and Policy Solutions,” suggesting that, “Change in the Chinese government could lead the way to a change in policy towards North Korean refugees.”
The professor put forward the idea that the following groups of people should be eligible to receive residential permits: ▲ North Korean women who have had children three years or more after marrying a Chinese spouse, and have been abiding by Chinese rules and regulations ▲ North Korean women or children who are residing with relatives in China and have no means of survival if repatriated to the North, and who wish to remain in China, and ▲ persons who were Chinese citizens before the Korean War or North Koreans of Chinese parenting, but returned to China for survival.
China acknowledges defectors who crossed into China before 2000 as having escaped due to hunger, but since then has viewed them as opportunistic defectors looking for a better place to live. Accordingly, the level of punishment of pre-2000 defectors could be lowered.
Many persons related to NGOs have requested refugee status for all defectors in China, but it has been pointed out that such a demand does not take into consideration China’s significant worries and concerns.
Professor Kim noted that the dilemma of the Chinese government is the inevitability of a mass-scale defection if refugee status is granted to all defectors, especially considering the currency; 1 Yuan=480 Won exchange rate between China and the North. The three Northeast provinces in China would surely feel the impact of such an exodus.
He then explained China’s policy towards the Korean peninsula, “The Korean peninsula issue has to be resolved from the start point of preventing a sudden emergency in North Korea and achieving gradual economic progress there.”
He also forecasted, “From the perspective of a peaceful re-unification of the peninsula and North Korea’s economic opening and progress producing a beneficial situation for China, the defector issue should not be stymied, but a comprehensive means of resolution should be actively sought.”
Finally, he exhorted, “Conflict with the Chinese government regarding North Korean human rights has made the defector issue even more difficult. A comprehensive policy of cooperation must be found.”
