People of All Classes Try to Flee China’s Repressive Society, Seek Refuge in European Countries

Tourists walk past a real estate promotion billboard—with text in Chinese that states buying an apartment can earn permanent resident status—on the seafront promenade in the Cypriot resort of Paphos on Jan. 24, 2013.Yiannis Kourtoglou/AFP via Getty Images

A leaked document revealed that some Chinese politicians, billionaires, and criminals obtained Cypriot passports by investing over $2 million in the country.

In fact, Chinese people from different social classes are trying to flee China. Besides immigration through family or work visas, wealthy Chinese have invested their money abroad, while ordinary Chinese or those with less financial resources take the illegal route.