<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Male Chinese citizens who are living in North Korea and
\nmarried to North Korean wives are paying thousands of dollars in bribes to
\nParty cadres to have their children registered as Chinese citizens on local
\ndocuments, Daily NK has learned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHwagyo [Chinese citizens living abroad] husbands invariably
\nwant their children registered as Chinese citizens, but local government
\noffices are in charge of such affairs and automatically register all children
\nborn in the country as North Koreans,\u201d a source in North Pyongan Province
\ntold Daily NK in a recent telephone conversation. \u201cSo the only way to get their
\nregistration changed is to pay a significant bribe to the local office.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government offices typically demand around 3,000 USD in
\nbribes to have newborn hwagyo registered as Chinese,\u201d the source said, adding,
\n\u201cIf they\u2019ve already been registered as North Korean and they\u2019re requesting a
\nchange of status, officials demand an extra 1,000 USD.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hwagyo living in North Korea typically hold Chinese
\ncitizenship, meaning they are relatively free to travel to and from from China,
\nbarring any serious problems with their personal records. Given the rapid
\ngrowth of the markets throughout the country, this provides a significant
\nadvantage for making money through cross-border trade.<\/p>\n
This is spurring a growing preference for hwagyo men as
\nhusbands in the North, and with full knowledge of this, Party cadres are reaping
\nwhatever benefits they can, added the source.<\/p>\n
\u201cDonju (newly affluent middle class) women who marry hwagyo
\nare then able to make money by securing a monopoly over certain products
\nbrought in from China,\u201d the source explained. \u201cCadres know that these couples
\nare bound to apply for Chinese citizenship for their children, and they see it
\nas an opportunity to earn foreign currency in the form of bribes.”<\/p>\n
It is not just the relative freedom to travel that
\nencourages families to obtain Chinese citizenship for their children, but the
\nidea that failure to do so will stigmatize their children for having a
\nforeigner as a father in a society based heavily on songbun (family political
\nbackground and loyalty). If the children remain North Korean citizens, they
\nwill also have difficulty visiting their fathers\u2019 families and hometowns in China.<\/p>\n
These couples are therefore shelling out whatever they have
\nto ensure their children are registered as Chinese citizens.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor hwagyo that in live in Pyongyang, Sinuiju, and other
\nlarge cities that have active trade with China, their living standards are
\npretty good. But for those who live outside the urban areas, it can be a
\nstruggle to get by,\u201d a separate source in the capital said. \u201cEven so, these poorer hwagyo will still
\ntry to get their children\u2019s citizenship changed by going to China and saving up
\nmoney while doing something like washing dishes at restaurants for two years.\u201d <\/p>\n
Parents see this as their duty for their children, and
\nregardless of how long anyone expects the North Korean regime to last, they
\nhave come to believe that Chinese citizenship will always be more advantageous
\nin terms of making a living, added the Pyongyang-based source. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Male Chinese citizens who are living in North Korea and married to North Korean wives are paying thousands of dollars in bribes to Party cadres to have their children registered as Chinese citizens on local documents, Daily NK has learned. \u201cHwagyo [Chinese citizens living abroad] husbands invariably want their children registered as Chinese citizens, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":32712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[645],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy"],"yoast_head":"\n