SEEKING A FUTURE: A foreigner talks with a recruiter of a Chinese company at a job fair in Beijing on April 7 (CFP)

On May 14, the Beijing police launched a 100-day campaign targeting foreigners illegally residing and working in the city.

According to the Exit-Entry Administration Department of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau (BMPSB), foreigners targeted by the campaign are those who illegally entered China, stay in the capital with an expired visa or have a job without a valid work permit.

Most of the foreigners who are illegally in the city do not have a proper job or a stable income, and they have become a major source of crime.

"With growing exchanges with the outside world, more and more foreigners come to China. The group has become much more complicated than in the 1980s, causing many social problems," said Chen Tianben, an associate professor at the Chinese People's Public Security University. "Those foreigners who violate Chinese laws should be punished, as everyone is equal before the law."

Official data show that 52.11 million foreigners entered and exited the Chinese mainland in 2010, a 133-percent increase from 2001. The number reached 54.12 million in 2011. Foreigners staying in China for more than six months numbered 600,000 in 2011, up from about 20,000 in 1980.

"Last year, the police investigated more than 20,000 cases involving foreigners who illegally entered, lived or worked on the Chinese mainland, double the number in 1995," said Vice Minister of Public Security Yang Huanning in April.

Police actions

The ongoing crackdown in Beijing is the first to target illegal foreigners in the city.

Beijing, second only to Shanghai in terms of the number of foreigners with residency permits on the Chinese mainland, was home to about 120,000 foreigners at the end of 2011. Since 2008, 13,000 cases of illegal entry, overstaying and illegal employment have been reported in Beijing, involving foreigners from more than 100 countries, according to exit-entry statistics.

According to recent statistics from the Ministry of Public Security, 80 percent of foreigners identified as illegally residing in China do not initially intend to do so.

"Some foreigners, whose visas have expired, cannot afford tickets back to their countries, or are unable to find jobs in China, often resort to crime," said Lin Song, a senior passport control officer with the BMPSB's Exit-Entry Administration Department.

Under regulations backing the campaign, foreign visitors, tourists and expats are required to carry their passports and accommodation registration documents with them.

"We'll check passports and accommodation registrations in areas of high concentrations of foreigners," Lin said, adding that the move is aimed at making sure each foreigner is aware of Chinese exit-entry regulations.

Among the locations he mentioned specifically are Sanlitun, an area in Chaoyang District popular for its shops, bars and restaurants, Wangjing in Chaoyang District, where about 40,000 foreigners, mostly Koreans, live, as well as universities in Haidian District.

According to Lin, a hotline to receive tip-offs about illegal foreign residents has been set up by police as part of the campaign, and in a more preventive move, a text messaging system reminding foreigners when their visa is about to expire is also being used.

Dai Peng, Director of the Department of Criminal Investigation of the Chinese People's Public Security University, said that the campaign is part of the regular work of the police. "China has opened its doors. We expect foreigners to respect and obey Chinese laws and regulations if they come here," Dai said.

Beijing is not the first place on the Chinese mainland to initiate a crackdown on illegal foreigners. Early in 2007, south China's Guangdong Province started campaigns to curb the illegal entry, residence and employment of foreigners.

In May 2009, police authorities in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, launched a special campaign to closely inspect the living and business areas of foreigners. The main targets were those who had not applied for stay permits and held fake or overstayed passports, according to the city's police authorities.

Today, Guangzhou has developed into a major trade hub in south China for foreigners, especially those from Africa and the Middle East. More than 1 million foreigners enter or leave via Guangzhou ports each year.

Sources with the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences said more than 20,000 African people with a stay permit for up to six months are living in Guangzhou.

"But the actual number of African people living here is bigger than the registered total. Many don't have a passport or a stay permit," said Huang Shiding, a researcher with the academy.