Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: FJI33944 Country: Fiji Date: 14 November 2008 Keywords: Fiji – Chinese Community – Treatment – Protection – Buddhists in Fiji – Chinese Citizenship – Fijian Citizenship 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. What is the situation for people of Chinese nationality or ethnicity in Fiji? 2. Is there any information to suggest that people of Chinese ethnicity or nationality face discrimination or violence in Fiji? 3. What protection is available to members of ethnic or religious minority groups if they are targeted? 4. What is the position for Buddhists and other minority religious groups in Fiji? 5. Would a Chinese national lose their Chinese citizenship by acquiring Fijian citizenship? RESPONSE 1. What is the situation for people of Chinese nationality or ethnicity in Fiji? 2. Is there any information to suggest that people of Chinese ethnicity or nationality face discrimination or violence in Fiji? Sources generally indicate that the attitude of successive elected governments and interim governments toward people of Chinese ethnicity in Fiji has fluctuated in the past two decades, and that societal attitudes toward those who have arrived from China in the past decade are less positive than societal attitudes toward the longer-established Chinese community in Fiji. An RRT research response prepared in 1995 provides background regarding the Chinese community in Fiji. Information cited in the response indicates that the Chinese and Indian communities had traditionally played an important role in the Fijian economy, but that “an outflux of both Indian and Chinese capital and skilled and professional people” followed the 1987 coup. Sources cited in the response indicate that the government subsequently promoted conciliatory ethnic policies and, in January 1995, “approved a plan to admit up to 28,000 Hong Kong Chinese over a ten year period under a business migration scheme”. The response notes that strong opposition to the scheme was expressed by the opposition Fijian Association Party and Fiji’s Methodist church on the grounds of “economic and social disruption” (RRT Country Research 1995, Research Response V94/02830, 11 May – Attachment 1). The following reports provide information relevant to the period from 1999 to 2007, during which the applicant resided in Fiji. US Department of State’s reports 1999-2007 The US Department of State’s reports on human rights practices for the year 1999 included the following observations: Fiji continued to make progress toward a more representative and democratic government following peaceful and democratic elections in May. The amended Constitution that came into effect in July 1998 encourages a multiethnic government while protecting traditional Fijian values. Under the amended Constitution, the Prime Minister and the President can be of any race, and for the first time, in addition to the communally allocated seats, there are open seats not allocated to any racial community in the lower house of Parliament. The judiciary is independent. The Constitution also includes a strengthened bill of rights and a compact designed to protect the rights of all citizens. It alters the official name of the country to “Republic of the Fiji Islands” and designates all citizens “Fiji Islanders,” avoiding designations specifying ethnicity. However, it preserves the paramountcy of indigenous Fijian interests, which cannot be subordinated to the interests of other communities. Peaceful and democratic elections were held in May and resulted in a change of government and the election of a Labor Party-led coalition administration. The new multiethnic Government consists of a number of political parties and enjoys a better than two-thirds majority in Parliament. For the first time, the country has an Indo-Fijian prime minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, the head of the Labor Party. The Constitution is designed to promote greater political stability. Nonetheless, ethnicity remains a dominant factor in Fijian life and affects the country’s politics, economy, and society. The population is a multiracial, multicultural mix, with indigenous Fijians comprising 51 percent, Indo-Fijians (descendents of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent) around 42 percent, and Asians, Caucasians, and other Pacific Islanders making up the rest of the population of over 775,000. The ethnic division is illustrated by the contrast between the private and public sectors; Indo-Fijian families largely control most private businesses, while indigenous Fijians largely head the government ministries and the military. ... The amended Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, place of origin, political opinion, color, religion, or creed, and provides specific affirmative action provisions for those disadvantaged as a result of such discrimination. In the compact included in the amended Constitution, there is a specific provision for affirmative action and “social justice” programs to secure effective equality of access to opportunities, amenities, and services for the Fijian and Rotuman people and for all disadvantaged citizens and groups. ... The new Government raised concerns with what it terms “expatriates” in the country. On several occasions, it announced its intention to review all immigration records relating to foreign workers and intervened publicly in a number of visa cases, calling on private companies to “localize” their hiring practices. The minority Chinese community complained about perceived government harassment in this regard, and the nation’s employers’ organization spoke against government interference. ... Particularly in the garment industry, migrant workers (predominantly Chinese or Filipino) are increasing in number (presently estimated at around 1,000 to 2,000 persons) and are a largely unregulated work force (US Department of State 2000, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999 – Fiji, February, Introduction and Sections 5 and 6 – Attachment 2). In its report on human rights practices in Fiji in 2000, the US Department of State noted that: The Chaudhry Government established a special police unit to investigate allegations of criminal activity within the Chinese community. It also focused particular attention on what it termed the “expatriate” business community and had announced its intention to review all immigration records relating to foreign workers. It intervened in a number of visa cases, refusing visas or renewals of work permits. In 1999 it called on private companies to “localize” their hiring practices. The minority Chinese community complained about perceived government harassment in this regard, and the nation’s employers’ organization spoke against government interference. ... There is no national minimum wage. Certain sectors have minimum wages set by the Ministry for Labor and Industrial Relations, which enforces them effectively. The manifesto of the ousted “People’s Coalition” government called for the establishment of a minimum wage. Minimum wage levels provide a sparse but adequate standard of living for a worker and family in all sectors except the garment sector. Wages are generally lower in the garment industry, which largely comprises female (mainly Chinese) workers; in the garment industry, the starting hourly wage is $0.36 (FJ$0.72) for learners and $0.47 (FJ$0.94) for others. The wages are based on an assumption that garment workers are young adults or married women living at home and not supporting a household. Working conditions and employee contracts in garment factories vary widely, with conditions in some factories reportedly amounting to indentured servitude... Particularly in the garment industry, migrant workers (predominantly Chinese) are increasing in number and are a largely unregulated work force. ... There are unconfirmed reports that some laborers recruited from Asian countries, particularly in the garment sector, are held in conditions of forced labor (see Section 6.c.). There are also reports that Chinese women working in the garment sector may be involved in prostitution (US Department of State 2001, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2000 – Fiji, February, Sections 5 and 6 – Attachment 3). The US Department of State’s report on human rights practices for 2001 noted that: The minority Chinese community continued to grow, primarily through illegal immigration. The special police unit (the Asian Crime Unit) formed to investigate allegations of criminal activity within the Chinese community was not operational during the year; its officers were investigating the armed takeover of Parliament in May 2000. ... Particularly in the garment sector, migrant workers (predominantly Chinese) are increasing in number and are a largely nonunionized and sometimes illegal work force. ... Police have received periodic, unsubstantiated reports of forced labor from China working in the garment factories in Western Viti Levu, the country’s largest island, but law