Laws of the People's Republic of China

   Article 2 Returned overseas Chinese are overseas Chinese who have returned to reside permanently in China. Overseas Chinese are Chinese citizens who have permanent residence outside China.

Relatives of overseas Chinese include relatives of both overseas Chinese and returned overseas Chinese.

Relatives of an overseas Chinese or returned overseas Chinese as defined in these procedures include: the spouse, the parent or parents, the son or sons, the daughter or daughters, the brother or brothers, the sister or sisters, the grandparent or grandparents, the grandson or grandsons and the granddaughter or granddaughters of an overseas Chinese or a returned overseas Chinese or a returned overseas Chinese who has long supported, or has long been supported by, the said overseas Chinese or returned overseas Chinese.

The status of a returned overseas Chinese is to be determined by the municipal government department in charge of affairs concerning overseas Chinese (hereinafter referred to as the municipal overseas Chinese affairs department). The status of a relative of an overseas Chinese is to be determined by the government department in charge of affairs concerning overseas Chinese of the district or county (hereinafter referred to as the district or county overseas Chinese affairs department) where the said relative of an overseas Chinese is registered as a permanent resident.

   Article 3 The municipal overseas Chinese affairs department is the department at municipality level responsible for directing, coordinating, supervising and inspecting the work in implementation of the Protection Law and these procedures.

The district or county overseas Chinese affairs department is the department at district or county level in charge of affairs concerning overseas Chinese.

   Article 4 Returned overseas Chinese and relatives of overseas Chinese shall enjoy the rights, and fulfill the obligations of citizens as provided in the constitution and other laws. Returned overseas Chinese and relatives of overseas Chinese shall not be discriminated against.

All government departments and organizations concerned shall carry out to the letter the rules laid down by the State and this Municipality on the preferential treatment of returned overseas Chinese and relatives of overseas Chinese because of their special condition.

   Article 5 Suitable arrangements shall be made in accordance with law for overseas Chinese whose applications for permanent residence in Shanghai have been approved. The departments concerned shall also make such arrangements for those overseas Chinese with specialized knowledge or skill who have applied for permanent residence in Shanghai that their work will be suited to their abilities.

   Article 6 The people's government, the overseas Chinese affairs department and the civil administration department of the locality where a returned overseas Chinese with no ability to work and no source of income has his residence shall take measures to ensure that he will maintain a basic standard of living.

   Article 7 Returned overseas Chinese shall be adequately represented in the Municipal People's Congress and in the people's congress of a district or county where the number of returned overseas Chinese inhabitants is comparatively large. The Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese (hereinafter referred to as the returnees' federation) at various levels in Shanghai may put up their candidates for the people's congress in accordance with law.

   Article 8 Government departments at all levels and the organizations concerned shall give support to societies lawfully formed by returned overseas Chinese or relatives of overseas Chinese and to all their lawful activities.

The returnees' federations at various levels in Shanghai shall use all their social influence to protect the legitimate rights and interests of returned overseas Chinese and relatives of overseas Chinese, make known their reasonable demands and make suggestions and proposals for protection of them.

The property of societies lawfully formed by returned overseas Chinese or relatives of overseas Chinese, including buildings, vehicles and facilities, shall be protected by law and not to be encroached upon.

   Article 9 The government departments concerned shall give necessary support to enterprises engaging in the work of placement of returned overseas Chinese and relatives of overseas Chinese. The property of such enterprises shall be protected by law and not to be encroached upon.

People's governments at various levels in Shanghai shall support returned overseas Chinese and relatives of overseas Chinese in their efforts to raise funds or use money remitted by overseas Chinese from abroad to set up enterprises. Their lawful business activities and rights and interests shall be protected by law.

   Article 10 Enterprises set up in Shanghai by returned overseas Chinese, relatives of overseas Chinese or their lawfully formed societies with money remitted by overseas Chinese from abroad shall, upon confirmation by the municipal overseas Chinese affairs department and approval by the departments concerned, enjoy preferential treatment in accordance with the rules of the State and this Municipality.

   Article 11 People's governments at all levels in Shanghai shall give support to returned overseas Chinese and relatives of overseas Chinese in their public welfare undertakings. The purposes and names of such undertakings shall not be changed arbitrarily.

   Article 12 Returned overseas Chinese and relatives of overseas Chinese have the right to possess, use, make profits from and dispose of their private houses in Shanghai in accordance with law, and their houses shall not be seized, damaged or unlawfully pulled down.

Problems with private houses of returned overseas Chinese and relatives of overseas Chinese left over from the past shall be properly dealt with in accordance with the pertinent rules of the State and Shanghai Municipality.

   Article 13 Returned overseas Chinese or relatives of overseas Chinese whose houses are to be pulled down for purposes of municipal construction shall be adequately compensated by the organization responsible for the construction in accordance with the rules of the State and this Municipality, and proper arrangements shall be made by the said organization for the solution of their housing problems.

When houses of returned overseas Chinese or relatives of overseas Chinese are to be pulled down for purposes other than municipal construction, the organization responsible for the construction shall provide housing for them in nearby places, or exchange their houses for others of equal value, or give them adequate pecuniary compensation.

   Article 14 Anyone intending to rent a house of a returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese shall sign a lease with its owner in accordance with law and restore it to the lessor at the expiration of the lease.

If the lessee fails to carry out the terms of the lease or to comply with the pertinent rules of this Municipality, the lessor may terminate the lease and take back the house.

   Article 15 When a returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese with permanent residence in a county in the outskirts of Shanghai intends to build a house there, his case shall, subject to the requirements of overall planning of the county, be handled by the departments concerned in accordance with the rules on the construction of residential houses in the countryside or he may acquire the right to use land for construction of residential houses in accordance with the rules on the grant of land use right.

   Article 16 Money remitted from overseas to a returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese is his money and shall not be misappropriated, falsely claimed, detained or wholly or partly unlawfully taken away. Neither shall one extort such money from its owner, or borrow it by force, or impose restrictions on the exercise of the owner's right in the money.

Banks handling overseas remittance shall promptly forward remittance from overseas Chinese. No one shall prevent such remittance from being used by its owner or confiscate it or unlawfully go over overseas remittance vouchers.

   Article 17 A returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese may place his money remitted from overseas on foreign currency deposit in a bank, or sell it in the foreign exchange adjustment market, or sell it to a bank. The banks concerned in Shanghai shall, according to the wishes of returned overseas Chinese or relatives of overseas Chinese, promptly handle their remittance from overseas.

   Article 18 The departments concerned shall give necessary assistance to a returned overseas Chinese or relative of overseas Chinese who is taking steps to assert his right to inherit or obtain property outside China.

The property of a returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese taken back from abroad shall be protected by law and not be encroached upon.

   Article 19 When returned overseas Chinese students, children of returned overseas Chinese, and children in China of overseas Chinese apply for admission to various kinds of schools above the compulsory education level, the schools concerned shall give them priority for admission in accordance with the rules of the State and Shanghai Municipality.

Returned overseas Chinese, children of returned overseas Chinese or children in China of overseas Chinese who are students of universities or colleges in the last year of their studies may choose to work in Shanghai after their graduation if their parents or spouses live in Shanghai.

   Article 20 A returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese looking for a job shall be given priority for the job if he is not less qualified than other candidates.

   Article 21 The normal contact or intercourse of returned overseas Chinese or relatives of overseas Chinese with friends and relatives living abroad is protected by law and shall not be unlawfully subject to restriction or interfered with.

The right of returned overseas Chinese and relatives of overseas Chinese to correspond freely with their friends and relatives abroad and their right of privacy in correspondence are protected by law. No one shall unlawfully open, damage, discard, hide away, pilfer or detain their mail or remove the stamps from their mail. If registered mail from or to a returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese is lost or damaged, or any part enclosed in the mail is missing, the post office concerned shall take remedial measures or compensate him for his loss.

   Article 22 When a returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese applies for permission to go abroad for private affairs, the department for exit and entry control of the public security authority shall grant or refuse the application within the prescribed time limit. If the department for exit and entry control deems it necessary to consult the opinion of an organization concerned, the organization shall give its opinion on the case within a period of ten days.

An applicant who has not been notified within the prescribed time limit as to whether his application is granted may inquire about his case and the organization handling the case shall give him an answer. An applicant who deems that the refusal of his application is contrary to the pertinent rules may ask the said organization to reconsider his case, and the said organization shall promptly reconsider the case and make a decision on it.

When a returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese has to go abroad because his relative in the direct line or brother or sister abroad is critically ill or dead, or because he has to deal with his property abroad within a fixed period of time, or because of other matters of great urgency, the department for exit and entry control of the public security authority shall, on production of authentic documentary proof by him, deal with his case prior to others.

   Article 23 When an employed returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese goes abroad to visit his parent or spouse, or goes abroad to visit his brother or sister if both his parents are dead, his leave of absence for making the visit, his salary or wages and his traveling expenses shall be dealt with in accordance with the pertinent rules of the State and Shanghai Municipality. The organization in which he is employed shall not infringe upon their legitimate rights and interests.

   Article 24 When a returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese applies for permission to go abroad for the purpose of residing there permanently and has obtained the entry visa of the country or region in which he is to have his permanent residence, the organization in which he is employed shall promptly make the necessary arrangements for him to leave his employment and give him an allowance in accordance with law. The said allowance may be used to purchase foreign currency at the current rate of the foreign exchange adjustment market to be taken away along with him from this country.

   Article 25 When a returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese goes abroad with his family but needs to retain the house he has rented from the State, his case shall be dealt with in accordance with the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on the Administration of State-owned Houses in Cities and Towns.

When a returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese goes abroad to study or goes abroad with his family to visit relatives and applies for permission to retain the house he has rented from the State, he shall, in normal conditions, be allowed to retain the house for a period of three years, at the expiration of which he may continue to retain the house by producing papers certifying that he needs more time for his visit or for his studies if the lessor agrees to extend the period.

   Article 26 When a returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese is given permission to go abroad to visit relatives or when he returns from such a visit, the public security authority shall, according to law, make it possible for him to register the change of his residence in time.

   Article 27 When a returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese who went abroad for the purpose of residing there permanently but has returned to Shanghai within one year of his departure petitions to be allowed to reside in Shanghai permanently again, the public security authority shall allow him to register again as a permanent resident of Shanghai. If he asks to be given a job, the organization in which he was formerly employed shall be responsible for his placement. If the said organization has difficulty in giving him a suitable job, the personnel and labour departments shall recommend him prior to other candidates with the same qualifications to an organization which needs employees with such qualifications.

   Article 28 When a returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese applies for permission to go abroad to study at his own expense, the departments concerned shall examine and decide on his case prior to others and ensure that he receive the preferential treatment accorded by the State and Shanghai Municipality if he meets the requirements of the State.

   Article 29 When a returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese applies for permission to go abroad for his private affair, the organization to which he belongs shall not, before he gets the entry visa of the country or region to which he intends to go, force him to resign, suspend him from his duties, stop payment of his salary or wages or order him to quit school.

   Article 30 When a returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese is to go abroad to visit relatives, to reside there permanently or to study at his own expense, he shall be allowed to buy a prescribed amount of foreign currency in a designated bank in Shanghai at the current exchange rate of the foreign exchange adjustment market.

   Article 31 A returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese who has retired on a merit pension or an ordinary pension because of old age or has retired because of illness shall, if he has gone abroad, continue to receive his pension according to law. If he has obtained permission from the country or region he is living to reside there permanently, he may purchase foreign exchange at the current rate of the foreign exchange adjustment market with his pension and remit it abroad; but if he has resided abroad for more than a year, he must annually give documentary proof that he is alive.

   Article 32 A returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese who maintains that a government department, an organization or an individual has violated the Protection Law or the rules for its implementation and has infringed upon his rights and interests may petition the overseas Chinese affairs department or any other department concerned to deal with his case in accordance with law, and the department that has taken charge of the case shall, within a month of receipt of his petition, decide on his case and notify him of its decision. But the returned overseas Chinese or the relative of overseas Chinese may instead take legal proceedings in the people's court.

   Article 33 If a government worker of an administrative department infringes upon the rights and interests of a returned overseas Chinese or a relative of overseas Chinese, the department he belongs to or the authority at a higher level shall order him to correct his mistake or take disciplinary measures against him. If his act is sufficient to constitute a crime, he shall be held criminally responsible.

   Article 34 These procedures shall be applicable to cases involving relatives of Hongkong and Macao compatriots and relatives residing in Shanghai and having Chinese citizenship of foreigners of Chinese origin.

   Article 35 Matters concerning the application of these procedures shall be explained by the municipal overseas Chinese affairs department.