On June 23, 10 foreign tourists were violently attacked and killed at their campsite on Nanga Parbat in Gilgit, northern Pakistan, shocking the international community. Among the 10 foreign victims were two Chinese nationals and one Chinese American. In this incident, Zhang Jinchuan was the sole survivor among the three Chinese mountaineers. After the incident, the Pakistani extremist militant group "Jundallah" and a spokesperson for the Pakistani Taliban both claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack. This heinous attack once again brought the issue of "overseas safety for Chinese" to the forefront.
According to Beijing’s Legal Daily, a review of relevant data reveals that incidents of Chinese citizens facing personal threats or even harm abroad have shown a growing trend:
On the evening of June 14, local time in France, six Chinese students specializing in winemaking were attacked in Gironde, France;
On June 3, a car explosion occurred near the under-construction Gwadar Port in southwestern Pakistan. At least three Chinese nationals were killed and nine others injured in the incident;
On February 28, 2012, a Chinese woman was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan;
On January 28, 2012, Sudanese anti-government militants abducted 29 Chinese workers;
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Terrorist Attacks Become a Major Cause of Frequent Safety Issues for Chinese Abroad
Foreign ministry officials revealed during the 2013 "Two Sessions" press conference with Chinese and foreign journalists that in 2012, the number of outbound trips by mainland Chinese residents reached 83.18 million, with over 20,000 Chinese enterprises operating abroad. From 2007 to 2011 alone, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs handled 160,000 consular protection cases, involving nearly one million Chinese citizens. As the number of Chinese citizens overseas continues to grow, how to protect their personal safety has become an important issue for China.
"Terrorism and criminal offenses that endanger social stability, such as vandalism, robbery, and assault, have become major reasons for the frequent safety issues faced by Chinese people abroad," said Xin Chongyang, a professor of international law at China University of Political Science and Law, in an interview with reporters. "There are various reasons behind safety issues for Chinese overseas, and they cannot be completely resolved."
"Although terrorist attacks are hard to prevent, many safety issues can be mitigated, such as building good relations with local residents," said Lu Lin, a logistics company employee who has traveled abroad multiple times for work. "When we were in Namibia, we helped some poor families repair their houses, which worked very well and helped us build good relationships with the locals."
Liu Shu, a Chinese national with 20 years of overseas work experience who is engaged in tourism and labor reception in the United States, responded to Legal Daily’s questions via email: "Generally, people traveling abroad only see the bright side of other countries, but few talk about the crime situation there. Overseas workers lack necessary safety precautions, and their self-protection and self-rescue awareness can be said to be zero."
"I believe that in this heinous incident, choosing to go mountaineering in Pakistan reflects insufficient risk assessment by the climbers. Mountaineering is inherently a dangerous activity. These enthusiasts may have had technical expertise and preparation for mountaineering safety, but their overall safety preparedness regarding the local environment was not as adequate," said Liu Simin, a special researcher at the Tourism Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "At present, Chinese citizens still lack strong legal awareness and have relatively poor safety awareness when it comes to protecting their personal safety abroad."
Legislating Prevention and Post-Event Relief Issues Through Separate Laws
According to Wang Yongfeng, captain of the Chinese Mountaineering Team, after freeing himself, Zhang Jinchuan repeatedly sought help and reported on his teammates’ conditions via satellite phone while evading capture.
"Once the news reached us domestically, we immediately reported to the relevant departments and also sought help from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Wang Yongfeng said.
"A more effective approach is to contact the embassy or consulate of your home country. Or, if there are no language barriers, contact the local police. If these options are unavailable, contacting one’s domestic employer or overseas Chinese associations and chambers of commerce, as Zhang Jinchuan did, is also a viable choice, though it may not be as timely as the former methods," Xin Chongyang stated.
"Using the law to protect the safety of Chinese people abroad is a major trend. In addition, it’s important to enhance their training in self-rescue and self-protection, rather than just giving them legal lessons," Liu Shu emphasized the term "self-rescue and self-protection" in bold in her email.
"We currently have three misconceptions: First, we prioritize post-event rescue and remediation over pre-event prevention; second, we emphasize legal education but lack training in self-rescue and self-protection. No one teaches them what to actually do; third, relevant plans are just documents," Liu Shu wrote.
In Xin Chongyang’s view, the most important means of addressing the safety of Chinese citizens abroad is prevention.
"For example, issuing safety information—identifying which countries have safety issues and advising avoidance; and outlining safety measures when travel is unavoidable, such as residential safety, traffic safety, and emergency contact methods. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established relevant institutions and systems to protect the safety of overseas Chinese nationals. When safety threats arise, our embassies and consulates abroad can provide consular protection," Xin Chongyang explained.
Lu Lin expressed strong agreement with this, summarizing his years of experience with the saying, "Prevention is better than disaster relief."
"For Chinese authorities, there is an urgent need to establish a rapid response and rescue mechanism for such emergencies, so that active and effective actions can be taken when the safety of Chinese citizens is threatened," Liu Simin suggested.
"Another issue parallel to prevention is post-event relief, which refers to the response measures when safety issues occur," Xin Chongyang noted. "Incidents such as attacks on Chinese citizens abroad involve the issue of consular protection under international law."
It is not difficult to see that Chinese authorities have recognized the necessity of protecting overseas Chinese. Many major events are related to the safety of Chinese abroad, such as escort missions in the Gulf of Aden, joint escort operations in the Mekong River waterways, and the large-scale evacuation of Chinese nationals at the beginning of the Libya conflict—all initially aimed at safeguarding the safety of Chinese overseas.
Xin Chongyang told reporters that apart from general criminal offenses, terrorism is one of the biggest threats to personal safety abroad. "Combating terrorist crimes through international cooperation is a new challenge we face, and international criminal judicial cooperation needs to be further strengthened."
Xin Chongyang suggested that, in accordance with China’s Constitution, laws, and relevant international legal provisions, legislation should be enacted on prevention and post-event relief through separate laws. This would include establishing systems, creating institutions, and ensuring financial allocations through legal means. "This might be a starting point to bring the protection of Chinese citizens abroad onto a legal track."