Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA

RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE

Research Response Number: CHN33347 Country: Date: 16 May 2008

Keywords: China – CHN33347 – Establishing a Business– Identity Cards – Residence Cards – – Shenzhen

This response was prepared by the Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. This research response may not, under any circumstance, be cited in a decision or any other document. Anyone wishing to use this information may only cite the primary source material contained herein.

Questions

1. Please advise whether it is possible to set up a company using another person’s identity and personal information in the PRC? 2. Please advise whether it is possible to use another person’s identification card to find a place to live in the PRC? Would a person be able to exist, operate a business and pay taxes without using his identity card?

RESPONSE

1. Please advise whether it is possible to set up a company using another person’s identity and personal information in the PRC?

No specific information or examples were located in the sources consulted regarding persons setting up companies in China using another person‘s identity or personal information. A review of source information relevant to the question of the ability of a person to establish a business in China using false or fraudulently obtained identity documentation is presented below under the following sub-headings: Procedures and Documentation for Establishing a Business in China, and Fake Identity Documents in China.

Procedures and Documentation for Establishing a Business in China Detailed information was located on the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/) regarding the general steps required to start a limited liability company in China. These steps include opening bank accounts, obtaining a business license, obtaining permission from police to create a business seal, and registering with various local government departments, including local tax and statistics bureaus. With regard to the process of obtaining a business license, the Doing Business website indicates that identity cards are included in the documentation required:

To obtain registration certification, the company must file a completed application form along with the following documents: – Notice of approval of company name. – Lease or other proof of company office. – Capital verification certificate or appraisal report. – Articles of association, executed by each shareholder. – Representation authorization. – Identity cards of shareholders and identification documents of officers. – Appointment documents and identification documents (certifying name and address) of the directors, supervisors, and officers. – Appointment documents and identification documents of the company‘s legal representative – If the initial contribution is in nonmonetary assets, the document certifying transfer of the property title of such assets. – Other documents as required by the authorities. …Documentation requirements for company registration were standardized. The Registry is now required to publicly display them (‗Starting a Business in China‘ 2008, Doing Business website http://www.doingbusiness.org/ExploreTopics/StartingBusiness/Details.aspx?economyid=42 – Accessed 16 May 2008 – Attachment 1).

With specific regard to Shenzhen, information was located on the website of the Shenzhen Municipal Office of Legislative Affairs regarding the procedures for setting up a company in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. A copy of business legislation for Shenzhen Economic Zone, enacted on 30 June 1999, stipulates the documentation which is required as part of the application process to establish an unlimited liability business, including identification papers, and the names and addresses of merchants and partners:

Chapter III Registration of Merchants

…Article 11 The registration items of unlimited liability merchants shall include: names, places (or addresses), persons in charge, types of enterprises, business scope, operating period, and the subscribers‘ or partners‘ names, addresses and identity card numbers.

Article 12 To establish unlimited liability merchants, the applicants or their consignees shall submit to the Registration Organization the following documents: (1) Application forms for commercial registration, which are printed by the Registration Organization and signed by subscribers or partners; (2) Documents of approval of names for merchants; (3) Certification of domiciles or addresses; (4) Identification papers specifying the items such as names of persons in charge, subscribers, or partners, etc; (5) Partnership agreements of partnership organizations; and (6) Other documents required by the Registration Organization. Where the registrations of establishment are required to be applied to relevant department for approval according to laws and administrative regulations, the applicants or their consignees shall submit the document of ratification while applying for the registrations. Organization; in case the circumstances are serious, he shall be revoked of his commercial registration (‗Regulations of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone on Business‘ 1999, Shenzhen Municipal Office of Legislative Affairs website http://fzj.sz.gov.cn/en/10.asp – Accessed 15 May 2008 – Attachment 2).

Fake Identity Documents in China General information was located to indicate that fraudulent identity documents in may be easily available in China. A 2005 report from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada provides the following general summary on the availability of fake documents:

A professor of criminal justice at Rutgers University, who has written on Chinese human smuggling, told the Research Directorate that, in his opinion, ―it is pretty easy to obtain all kinds of fake documents in China,‖ including identity documents, birth certificates, university diplomas and hospital documents (Professor 25 Aug. 2005). One organization in advertised its services on paper cards that were distributed on the streets and that listed the various types of documents available for purchase (Shanghai Star 29 Aug. 2003). Procurement of fraudulent documents is also facilitated by corruption among local officials (Schloenhardt 2002, 48; Comtex 18 June 2004). The involvement of government officials in procuring fraudulent travel documents is reportedly common but seldom discussed in the Chinese media (ibid.) (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2005, CHN100510.E – China: The manufacture, procurement, distribution and use of fraudulent documents, including passports, hukou, resident identity cards and summonses; the situation in Guangdong and Fujian particularly (2001-2005) , 8 September – Attachment 3).

With specific reference to identity cards, a 2005 report from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada information decribed the ―first-generation‖ identity cards, which were in use in China until 2004, as being ―relatively easy to counterfeit‖: Prior to 2004, two versions of the first-generation RIC were most widely used in China (Canadian Consulate General in 9 Dec. 2004) ( the older version, which contains a 15-digit ID number, and the newer version, which contains an 18-digit ID number (ibid.). The newer version of the ID card was first issued in October 1999 (ibid.). …The first-generation RIC is relatively easy to counterfeit as it is made of laminated paper, and can reportedly be bought on the streets for a ―few hundred yuan‖ [300 yuan= Cdn. $44.39 (Xe.com 22 Feb. 2005)] (U.S. Law Library of Congress 7 July 2004). In addition, these cards, which are issued by provincial authorities, do not have a nationwide tracking number so fraud detection is difficult (ibid.). According to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) official in charge of the Second-Generation ID Card Replacement Office, the first-generation ID card ―adopts photochemical reaction and lithographic as the main printing technology, which can be forged or imitated easily‖ (AIT Event 2003). The official also stated that the government had encountered serious problems with forged RICs being used in committing crimes (ibid.). According to information provided to the Research Directorate by a program officer with the Intelligence and Interdiction Unit of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) in 1999,

[b]oth counterfeit cards and fraudulently obtained but legitimately produced cards are obtainable and in circulation, and ... possession of a legitimately produced identity card does not guarantee that it was legitimately obtained (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, 2005 CHN43360.E – China: National Resident Identity Cards; background information; description; issuance procedures, 24 February – Attachment 5).

The same report provided information to indicate that in 2004, the roll-out of new ‗second- generation‘ ID cards, with improved security features, commenced in several cities, including Shenzhen: In order to decrease the incidence of fraud and counterfeiting, the Chinese government introduced the second-generation ID card (also called the ―smart card‖) (U.S. Law Library of Congress 7 July 2004; AIT Event 2003). In order to avoid duplicates, each resident will be issued a nationally unique identity card number (Canadian Consulate General in Hong Kong 9 Dec. 2004). The second-generation ID cards, which are made with laminated paper, contain personal information on an embedded microchip and a digital photograph of the resident (ibid.). The card, which has new security features, is covered with a special coating and is printed using new technology (ibid.; U.S. Law Library of Congress 7 July 2004). The

information is entered using encryption technology, which makes unauthorized access more difficult than with the first-generation cards (ibid.). Although the card contains a digitized version of the bearer‘s photograph, which can be accessed by the police, the government has decided not to use biometrics, such as facial recognition, for now (ibid.). The second-generation ID card began circulating in 2004 (Canadian Consulate General in Hong Kong 9 Dec. 2004). Major cities, including , Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, began issuing the second-generation ID card in the second half of 2004 (ibid.; see also China Daily 28 Jan. 2004). Replacement of the old paper cards is expected to be completed throughout China by the end of 2008 (China Daily 28 Jan. 2004; Canadian Consulate General in Hong Kong 9 Dec. 2004) (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, 2005 CHN43360.E – China: National Resident Identity Cards; background information; description; issuance procedures, 24 February – Attachment 5).

Examples were located in media sources of identity cards being forged, and being used to establish businesses in China. A survey of crime and punishment in China in October 2005 reported the case of a peasant who was sentenced to death for tax fraud. The condemned man had used false identity cards and photos to establish companies in Beijing:

On 25 October 2005, Chen Xuejun (7115 1331 6511), a 32-year-old Zhejiang peasant, was escorted to the execution ground for issuing false value added specialized tax invoices worth 3.3 billion yuan, causing 393 million yuan in economic losses. In March 2000, Chen bought a small enterprise for 20,000 yuan and used fake identity cards and photos to register a number of companies in Beijing (‗Crime, punishment in China 16-31 Oct 05‘ 2006, BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific, 27 February – Attachment 6).

A 2003 report from Chinese News agency Xinhua indicated that a farmer had been sentenced to 12 years in prison after fabricating a large volume of false documents, including identity cards and business licenses:

Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People‘s Court has sentenced a 35-year-old farmer 12 years in prison with the one-year deprival of political rights for counterfeiting large amounts of identity cards and other certificates.

Sun Kechun, a native of east China‘s Jiangsu Province, was convicted of creating and selling counterfeit certificates at a house he had rented in western Haidian on May 11, 2002.

Beijing police seized more than 40,000 fake certificates such as college diplomas, identity cards, permanent residence booklets, and driving and business licenses at his rented living quarters (‗Farmer sentenced for counterfeiting certificates‘ 2003, Xinhua News, 26 May – Attachment 7).

2. Please advise whether it is possible to use another person’s identification card to find a place to live in the PRC? Would a person be able to exist, operate a business and pay taxes without using his identity card?

A review of source information relevant to the question of the ability of a person to live and conduct social and economic transactions in China without an identity card is presented below under the following sub-headings: Identity Documentation, and Corruption.

Identity Documentation Information was located to indicate that a person lacking any form of identification may have difficulty conducting transactions and accessing services in China. A 2001 report from the

Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada provides the following information regarding Guangdong Province, indicating that persons without any form of identification may be detained by authorities, and that new identity cards will be required to access many social services:

An 8 September 2000 article makes brief reference to three identification documents for Guangdong residents, stating that in Guangdong ―a person can be detained if they fall into the category of the ‗three have nots‘ – no identity card, no work permit or no residence permit‖(South China Morning Post). …According to a 22 September 2001 article in the South China Morning Post, Guangdong will become the first province to introduce a ―comprehensive and unified‖ social security card system throughout the province. Replacing the laminated paper identification cards currently in use in most parts of the country, the new cards will hold an electronic chip which will include the holder‘s name, residence card number, picture, work unit, marital status, fingerprint and personal contact details (ibid.). The cards will be used for registering at hospitals, applying for jobs, unemployment benefits, job training programmes and collecting of social security (ibid.). The adoption of this system is reportedly part of a China-wide effort to replace the hukou (household registration system) with a nationwide system within the next five years (ibid.). It is also predicted that the new cards will help reduce the number of instances of fraudulent use; today‘s identification cards can, reportedly, be purchased on the black market for as little as 200 yuan (ibid.), or approximately CAN$39 (Bank of Canada 23 Nov. 2001). While the new system will not be fully implemented for another four years, it was reported that by the end of October 2001 residents who are eligible for health insurance will be able to use their social security cards for medical treatment and have the cost automatically deducted from their bank accounts (ibid.). In addition, a 4 July 2001 article reported that Nanhai city, Guangdong was planning to introduce an electronic identity card for residents (Business Daily Update). Reportedly, the new card will include more holder information, can be treated as a legal identity card, and will be used to handle personal affairs for which an identity card is needed (ibid.) (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, 2001 CHN38018.E – China: The types of identity cards issued in Guangdong (i.e. urban residence, rural residence, national identity, and other cards used by the state to indicate identity); descriptions of the format, appearance, and manufacture of these cards, their use and purpose, and how each card is obtained , 26 November – Attachment 8).

A 2001 article from the South China Morning Post reported on the case of a man who had been arrested for vagrancy in Guangzhou because he held no identity card, work permit, or residence permit (‗Parents sue over son ‗beaten to death for no ID‘ 2001, South China Morning Post, 28 August – Attachment 9).

A 2007 report from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada provides an extensive summary of the ―second generation‖ identity cards issued by the Chinese government from 2004 onwards, including their security features (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2007, CHN102481.E – China: The second-generation Resident Identity Card; security features; and how the card can be tested for authenticity, 3 July 2007, UNHCR Refworld website http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=46c4037fc – Accessed 15 May 2008 – Attachment 10).

A 2004 article published by the Xinhua News Agency situated the issue of the new identity cards as part of an attempt to move away from the old hukou household registration system to manage an increasingly mobile population:

China started to issue ID cards since 1984 in light of a fledging market-oriented economy that required more travelling while it was still restricted by the household registration system set up in 1958.

The 1958 system specified where each Chinese person should live, normally where they were born. If they moved away, they lost rights to cheaper education and missed out on job opportunities.

The system is considered outdated as millions of Chinese have left their homes to find work in the past two decades of economic reform. Rural residents have moved to cities in large numbers to bolster their farming incomes but often left their children behind because of higher fees they would face at city schools.

The country therefore is preparing to change the system to allow free movement of population. However, a huge floating population poses risks of effective management and lends difficulties to maintain public security.

The use of the new ID card will enhance the ability of the government to manage population changes and movements while allowing freer migration, according to ministry officials. This will be beneficial for rural people who come to cities for work (‗China to replace ID cards with new smart cards‘ 2004, Xinhua News Agency (from www.bbcmonitoringonline.com, accessed on 29 Jan 2004) 28 January – Attachment 11).

An article published by the New York Times in August 2007 provides a discussion of technology recently implemented in Shenzhen to track the population, indicating that these recent developments will make possession of a computer readable identity necessary for accessing many services:

SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 9 — At least 20,000 police surveillance cameras are being installed along streets here in southern China and will soon be guided by sophisticated computer software from an American-financed company to recognize automatically the faces of police suspects and detect unusual activity.

Starting this month in a port neighborhood and then spreading across Shenzhen, a city of 12.4 million people, residency cards fitted with powerful computer chips programmed by the same company will be issued to most citizens.

Data on the chip will include not just the citizen‘s name and address but also work history, educational background, religion, ethnicity, police record, medical insurance status and landlord‘s phone number. Even personal reproductive history will be included, for enforcement of China‘s controversial ―one child‖ policy. Plans are being studied to add credit histories, subway travel payments and small purchases charged to the card.

Security experts describe China‘s plans as the world‘s largest effort to meld cutting-edge computer technology with police work to track the activities of a population and fight crime. But they say the technology can be used to violate civil rights.

The Chinese government has ordered all large cities to apply technology to police work and to issue high-tech residency cards to 150 million people who have moved to a city but not yet acquired permanent residency.

…‖If they do not get the permanent card, they cannot live here, they cannot get government benefits, and that is a way for the government to control the population in the future,‖ said Michael Lin, the vice president for investor relations at China Public Security Technology, the company providing the technology.

…All Chinese citizens are required to carry national identity cards with very simple computer chips embedded, providing little more than the citizen‘s name and date of birth. Since imperial times, a principal technique of social control has been for local government agencies to keep detailed records on every resident.

The system worked as long as most people spent their entire lives in their hometowns. But as ever more Chinese move in search of work, the system has eroded. This has made it easier for criminals and dissidents alike to hide from police, and it has raised questions about whether dissatisfied migrant workers could organize political protests without the knowledge of police.

Little more than a collection of duck and rice farms until the late 1970s, Shenzhen now has 10.55 million migrants from elsewhere in China, who will receive the new cards, and 1.87 million permanent residents, who will not receive cards because local agencies already have files on them. (Bradsher, Keith 2007, ‗China Enacting a High-Tech Plan to Track People‘ New York Times, 12 August http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/business/worldbusiness/12security.html?pagewanted=1 &_r=2&ei=5065&en=2d7edb61ed1 – Accessed 16 May 2008 – Attachment 12).

An article published in the AsiaTimesOnline website in September 2005 provided information to indicate that lack of permanent resident status in Shenzhen may impede a person‘s access to certain state-provided services, and indicates that permanent resident status is difficult to obtain. The article also indicated that the majority of persons living in Shenzhen do not have permanent residency:

…to become a permanent city resident, with all the benefits this brings, is next to impossible. So far, the city has granted permanent resident status to only 1.75 million people out of 12 million residents. Millions have worked in Shenzhen for years, even for decades, but they find it enormously difficult to get permanent resident status. As a result, they must return to their home towns to get driver‘s licenses and travel documents, among countless other official items.

The city has been trying to relax its residency policy, but progress has been slow. For example, since early this year, the city has granted permission for renewing driver‘s license within the city, but there is a two-year residency requirement. Furthermore, the city has lately widened the gate for migrants to obtain permanent resident status, but the new policy demands applicants each pay 200,000 yuan (US$24,700) in total tax over 3 years. Millions of low-paid workers, who are still voiceless, are naturally excluded as intended (Gu, George Zhibin 2007, ‗Shenzhen at 25‘, AsiaTimesOnline website, 27 September http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/GI27Ad02.html – Accessed 16 May 2008 – Attachment 13).

An article published on the ChinaView website in December 2005 indicated that small business owners in Shenzhen may be eligible for permanent residence status in the city if

their business pays a certain amount of tax, and indicates that persons without permanent residence may face restrictions in registering a business:

The Shenzhen Municipal Government will award hukou, or permanent residence permit, to big taxpayers in the city for the first time starting from today.

…Small business owners who have registered their business in Shenzhen are entitled to the Shenzhen hukou if their companies have paid a total of 300,000 yuan in tax in the past three years, according to the municipal development and reform bureau.

…Having no hukou can cause a lot of trouble for residents. People without hukou are subject to many restrictions when registering a company, applying for loans, or even going abroad (‗Big taxpayers to be granted Shenzhen hukou‘ 2005, ChinaView website 1 December 2005 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-12/01/content_3860982.htm– Accessed 16 May 2008 – Attachment 14).

Previous RRT Research Response CHN31644 of 24 April 2007 referred to various sources on the household registration, or hukou, system in China, including a 2005 paper by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB), which provided the following information:

The Chinese household registration system (hukou), implemented in China in the 1950s to improve migration control and economic planning (Cheng 12-13 Dec. 2003, 1-2; Wu and Treiman Oct. 2002, 8-9; 2000), remains in effect today (EIU 23 Aug. 2004; Chan, Kam Wing 2004; Jan. 2005, 52).

…According to Fei-Ling Wang, ―[o]ne citizen can have only one permanent hukou, at only one hukou zone‖ (Jan. 2005, 65). Each town and city issues its own hukou, which entitles only its registered residents to complete access to the social benefits associated with that particular hukou (Wu and Treiman Oct. 2002, 5; Young 2002, 6; Anh Sept. 2003, 29; EIU 23 Aug. 2004). A person‘s hukou registration record usually includes residential address, religion and employment information (Rogerson and Wu Nov. 2002; HRIC 6 Nov. 2002, 9), as well as birth, death and migration details (ibid.). In some areas, ―nationality, ‗native place‘, educational level, class status … and military record [are] also recorded‖ (ibid.).

… The application of HRS reform policies promulgated at the national level varies widely among the different provinces and cities (Young 2002; Carrillo 8 Dec. 2004), making generalizations impossible (ibid.) (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2005, China: Reforms of the Households Registration Sysem (Hukou) (1998-2004), UNHCR Refworld website, 1 February http://www.unhcr.org/cgi- bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=4305fbc04 – Accessed 16 May 2008 – Attachment 17).

For further information on hukou see Question 2 of RRT Research Response CHN31644 of 24 April 2007, and Question 3 of RRT Research Response CHN15666 of 24 December 2002 (RRT Country Research 2007, Research Response CHN31644, 24 April – Attachment 15; RRT Country Research 2002, Research Response CHN15666, 24 December – Attachment 16).

Corruption Information was located to indicate that high levels of corruption may subsist in government agencies in China. A 2008 US Department of State report provided the following assessment of corruption in China:

Corruption remained an endemic problem. The National Audit Office found that 56 ministerial level departments and their affiliates made unauthorized use of approximately $1.38 billion (RMB 6.87 billion) during the first 11 months of the year. Corruption plagued courts, law enforcement agencies, and other government agencies (US Department of State 2008, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2007 – China, March 11, Section 3 – Attachment 18).

An article published on the ChinaView website in June 2007 acknowledged issues with corruption and lack of transparency in the administration of business regulations in China:

China‘s authorities have cut through almost half of the red tape restrictions faced by entrepreneurs in establishing and operating businesses, as the government attempts to fight corruption and improve transparency.

…An official with the reform group said it was trying to clean up the the country‘s over- regulated administrative approval system, which had led to unnecessary government interventions in small businesses.

…The lack of transparency and inadequate supervision of administrative authority had resulted in many corruption cases, said the official (‗China slashes red tape to help businesses, reduce corruption‘ 2007, ChinaView website, 19 June http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-06/19/content_6263530.htm – Accessed 16 May 2008 – Attachment 19).

Question 4 of RRT Research Response CHN30726 refers to various sources on corruption amongst government officials in China, including a 2005 Transparency International report which identified Shenzhen as the test site for improvements to anti-corruption initiatives in China:

Planned improvements to the strategic system against corruption Shenzen, the site of China‘s first special economic zone, is to be the test-bed for the CPC‘s blueprint for checking internal corruption before it is rolled out to the rest of the country by 2010. The ‗implementation guideline for the establishment of a national system of punishing and preventing corruption‘, unveiled in January 2005, calls for further development of democracy and legal institutions with the goal of bringing power to closer public account. Among the guideline‘s targets are more dynamic anticorruption tactics; broader channels for public oversight and civil society monitoring; protection of whistleblowers and citizens‘ rights to criticise; and increased transparency of public policy (Transparency International 2005, ‗China‘ in Global Corruption Report 2006 – Countries A-K, 8 November, Part 2, p.141 http://www.transparency.org/publications/gcr/download_gcr – Accessed 1 September 2006 – Attachment 20; RRT Country Research 2006, Research Response CHN30726, 6 October – Attachment 21).

List of Sources Consulted

Internet Sources:

Search Engines Google search engine http://www.google.com/ Pipl search engine http://pipl.com/ Alpha search engine http://au.alpha.yahoo.com/ Microsoft Live Search http://www.live.com/?searchonly=true&mkt=en-AU

SearchMash search engine http://www.searchmash.com/ Google Translate http://www.google.com/translate_t?hl=en

Region Specific Sites China Info website http://www.chinainfo.org/ China Channels website http://www.china-channels.com/ Business China.com http://www.business-china.com/ Shenzhen Government Online http://english.sz.gov.cn/ Shenzhen Bureau of Trade and Industry website http://www.szbti.gov.cn/index.php China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission website http://www.cietac.org.cn/english/laws/laws_2.htm Tradepeak website http://www.tradepeak.com/

United Nations websites UNHCR Refworld http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain

Non-Government websites World Bank website http://www.worldbank.org/ Doing Business website http://www.doingbusiness.org/

Databases:

FACTIVA (news database) BACIS (DIAC Country Information database) REFINFO (IRBDC (Canada) Country Information database) ISYS (RRT Research & Information database, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, US Department of State Reports) RRT Library Catalogue

List of Attachments

1. ‗Starting a Business in China‘ 2008, Doing Business website http://www.doingbusiness.org/ExploreTopics/StartingBusiness/Details.aspx?economy id=42 – Accessed 16 May 2008.

2. ‗Regulations of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone on Business‘ 1999, Shenzhen Municipal Office of Legislative Affairs website http://fzj.sz.gov.cn/en/10.asp – Accessed 15 May 2008.

3. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2005, CHN100510.E – China: The manufacture, procurement, distribution and use of fraudulent documents, including passports, hukou, resident identity cards and summonses; the situation in Guangdong and Fujian particularly (2001-2005), 8 September. (REFINFO)

4. Deleted.

5. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2005, CHN43360.E – China: National Resident Identity Cards; background information; description; issuance procedures, 24 February. (REFINFO)

6. ‗Crime, punishment in China 16-31 Oct 05‘ 2006, BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific, 27 February. (FACTIVA)

7. ‗Farmer sentenced for counterfeiting certificates‘ 2003, Xinhua News, 26 May. (FACTIVA)

8. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, 2001 CHN38018.E – China: The types of identity cards issued in Guangdong (i.e. urban residence, rural residence, national identity, and other cards used by the state to indicate identity); descriptions of the format, appearance, and manufacture of these cards, their use and purpose, and how each card is obtained , 26 November. (REFINFO)

9. Parents sue over son ‗beaten to death for no ID‘‘ 2001, South China Morning Post, 28 August. (FACTIVA)

10. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2007, CHN102481.E – China: The second-generation Resident Identity Card; security features; and how the card can be tested for authenticity, 3 July 2007, UNHCR Refworld website http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=46c4037fc – Accessed 15 May 2008.

11. ‗China to replace ID cards with new smart cards‘ 2004, Xinhua News agency (from www.bbcmonitoringonline.com, accessed on 29 Jan 2004) 28 January. (CISNET China CX88524)

12. Bradsher, Keith 2007, ‗China Enacting a High-Tech Plan to Track People‘ New York Times, 12 August http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/business/worldbusiness/12security.html?pagewa nted=1&_r=2&ei=5065&en=2d7edb61ed1 – Accessed 16 May 2008.

13. Gu, George Zhibin 2007, ‗Shenzhen at 25‘, AsiaTimesOnline website, 27 September http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/GI27Ad02.html – Accessed 16 May 2008.

14. ‗Big taxpayers to be granted Shenzhen hukou‘ 2005, ChinaView website 1 December 2005 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-12/01/content_3860982.htm – Accessed 16 May 2008.

15. RRT Country Research 2007, Research Response CHN31644, 24 April.

16. RRT Country Research 2002, Research Response CHN15666, 24 December.

17. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2005, China: Reforms of the Households Registration Sysem (Hukou) (1998-2004), UNHCR Refworld website, 1 February http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=4305fbc04 – Accessed 16 May 2008.

18. US Department of State 2008, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2007 – China, March 11, Section 3.

19. ‗China slashes red tape to help businesses, reduce corruption‘ 2007, ChinaView website, 19 June http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-06/19/content_6263530.htm – Accessed 16 May 2008.

20. Transparency International 2005, ‗China‘ in Global Corruption Report 2006 – Countries A-K, 8 November, Part 2, p.141 http://www.transparency.org/publications/gcr/download_gcr – Accessed 1 September 2006.

21. RRT Country Research 2006, Research Response CHN30726, 6 October.