With no shortage of people, China is leading the world in the exportation of immigrants. The first immigration wave began in the 1970s, which mainly saw an influx of Chinese illegally immigrating to other countries. The second wave occurred in the 1990s, with many leaving on student visas.
In the 21st century, however, the third wave has been characteristically different, and predominantly reflects the migration of savvy investors or skilled workers.
“Why buy properties in Beijing, when it would be better to immigrate?” The rhetorical question was posited in an ad for a Beijing auto show in April, as reported by the Southern Metropolis Daily.
From a numbers-crunching standpoint, the logic makes sense: new construction properties within the second ring road in Beijing cost an average of 30,000 yuan (US$4,400) per square meter.
By contrast, an EB-5 U.S. immigration visa costs US$500,000. For that amount, one can buy a U.S. Green Card. (The same amount of money can only buy a 1,184-square foot apartment in Beijing.)
According to statistics from the Beijing Entry & Exit Service Association, the number of EB-5 applicants doubled in 2009.
The U.S. State Department reported that the number of EB-5 visas granted for fiscal year 2009 increased to 4,218 from just 1,443 in fiscal year 2008, and 70 percent of the visas were issued for China.
The lowest price tag of a Canadian visa (migration visa) is about 2.35 million yuan (US$343,902). Last year, there were 2,055 investors that immigrated to Canada. More than 1,000 were from mainland China, and they brought with them about 2.35 billion yuan (US$344 million) to Canada.
In the current third wave, a large group of skilled workers has outnumbered investors 20 to 1 throughout the last 10 years. On average, Canada receives about 60 skilled worker immigrant applications per day.
Many middle-class, well-educated workers are choosing to immigrate, with the top two reasons being fairly obvious: to secure their wealth and to ensure a better life for the next generation.
Li Lulu, a professor from the Department of Sociology at China’s Renmin University, says that due to the unstable social climate in China, people with financial means naturally would not want to miss out on any opportunities to emigrate.
Middle-class citizens in first-tier cities in China usually know of someone who is emigrating, or has already emigrated. The most popular destinations are Australia, Canada, Singapore, and the United States. Last year, 25,000 Chinese emigrated to Canada, while 65,000 came to America.
Canada, particularly Toronto and Québec are choice destination spots for the über-wealthy from China. They form close-knit, sequestered and exclusively affluent communities, distinctly separate from other Chinese communities. Some immigrants have even chosen to change their names.
One immigration lawyer was asked once to cooperate with a Chinese government agency investigation of one of the lawyer’s clients, who allegedly stole several hundred million in public funds, according to a report by Southern Metropolis Daily.
Zhou Jinhuo was director of the Bureau of Industry and Commerce in southern China’s Fujian Province. He attempted to flee to the States in June 2006 just before the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection decided to impose “double regulations” [see note] on him, on charges of alleged corruption and extortion. Prior to this, however, Zhou’s wife, Chen Shuzhen, had already obtained a Green Card, and emigrated to the United States.
Pang Jiayu, vice chairman of the provincial committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in northwestern Shaanxi Province, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on June 28, 2007. When Pang was at the height of his political power, as early as 2002 his wife and son emigrated to Canada.
By 2004, up to 4,000 officials had fled the country, taking with them more than US$50 billion in public funds, throughout the past 30 years of China’s phenomenal economic boom, according to a report by Procuratorial Nightly on Aug. 16, 2004. The report also explained the predictable sequence of events the corrupt officials usually follow.
They first procure immigration status for their family members, then move a large amount of financial assets out of China, and finally, they themselves manage to escape, seemingly without a trace.
Note: “Double regulations” is the Chinese communist party’s special investigative procedure, in which a party official is ordered to defend himself against allegations of disciplinary violations or corruption at a designated time and place. The procedure operates outside current Chinese legal procedure.
Read the original Chinese article.
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