□ 文/本刊记者 曾睿
□ Written by Zeng Rui
“谋发展首先要谋安全”
——对话中华人民共和国外交部领事司副司长、领事保护中心主任翟雷鸣
□ 文/本刊记者 曾睿
翟雷鸣中华人民共和国外交部领事司副司长、领事保护中心主任 摄影:唐楠
随着中国改革开放的不断深化,越来越多的中国公民和企业“走出去”,中国公民和企业的海外安全也前所未有地得到社会各界的关注。今年4月中国政府动用我国海军军舰紧急撤离在也门地区的中国公民、在尼泊尔强震中中国政府采取强有力的“中国行动”以及最近马航MH370航班失联事件取得重大发展,使得中国公民海外安全风险和领事保护问题持续成为全社会关注热点。最近,中华人民共和国外交部领事司副司长、领事保护中心主任翟雷鸣专程来到重庆指导外事系统开展海外领事保护工作,本刊特地就中国公民与企业海外安全风险、领事保护等话题对他进行了专访。
记者:翟司长,您好,欢迎您在盛夏来到山城重庆。现在,越来越多的中国公民和中国企业走出国门,我国政府高度重视保护中国公民和企业在海外的合法权益,中国公民和企业的海外安全也前所未有地得到社会各界的关注。请问当前我国政府构建了怎样的工作机制?中国公民和企业在海外可以得到哪些领事服务?您作为我国外交部处置多起中国公民和企业海外安全突发事件的决策者和执行负责人,如何看待中国公民与企业的海外安全现状?
翟雷鸣:好的,谢谢。对大家而言,包括对我自己而言,领事保护都是一个新鲜事。领事保护是服务每一个个体公民的。过去我们的公民出去得很少,在国外发生案件的几率更小,所以几乎遇不到什么需要领事保护的情况。领事保护工作是中国外交的一个新的工作领域。也是今天中国外交的一个亮点,因为它涉及到每一个走出国门的中国人。在“走出去”的过程中,中国公民在海外发生了很多事,特别是最近十年。媒体的报道、领导人的关心和百姓的关注,使领事保护工作被推上了一个前所未有的高度。
2004年,11名中国工人在阿富汗遇袭身亡,举国震惊。这也是迄今为止我们遇到过的死亡人数最多的海外中国公民的恐怖袭击事件,引起了国家领导人和社会各界对中国公民和企业海外安全问题的高度重视。随后,外交部牵头建立了境外中国公民和机构安全保护工作部际联席会议机制,自2004年部际联席会议机制成立以来,经过不断探索和实践,我国已基本建立了中央、地方、驻外使领馆、企业和个人“五位一体”的境外安全保护工作联动机制,实施了海外风险定期评估制度,境外中国公民和机构安全保护工作取得突破性进展。从2011年利比亚撤侨到今年的也门撤侨、尼泊尔强震救助同胞,每一次都是该机制率先启动,综合利用各方面的力量,积极帮助那些在海外遇到困难的同胞们。今年四月,中国政府动用我海军军舰紧急撤离了在也门地区的中国公民和一些外国侨民,这是新中国历史上第一次动用武装力量撤离自己的同胞。更早的时候,2011年利比亚发生了动乱,整个国家处于无政府状态,中国政府紧急从利比亚撤离了35800多人,成为世界领事保护史上的奇观。
依照《中华人民共和国国籍法》,凡具有中国国籍者,都可以在海外受到中国政府的领事保护。也就是说,只要是中国公民,无论是定居国外的华侨,还是临时出国的旅行者;无论是中国内地居民,还是香港、澳门和台湾同胞,都是中国驻外使领馆提供领事保护的对象。当中国公民、法人的合法权益在驻在国受到不法侵害时,中国驻外使领馆依据公认的国际法原则、有关国际公约、双边条约或协定以及中国和驻在国的有关法律,反映有关要求,敦促驻在国当局依法公正、友好、妥善地处理。领事保护还包括我驻外使领馆向中国公民或法人提供帮助或协助的行为,如提供国际旅行安全方面的信息、协助聘请律师和翻译、探视被羁押人员、协助撤离危险地区等。
目前中国公民和企业的海外安全风险形势不容乐观,呈现“量率齐升”的特点。2014年,全年内地居民出境人数破亿,达到1.17亿人次,同比增长1845.3万人次,创5年来新高。在海外的中资企业超过了25000家,境外总资产将近30000亿美元。2014年,中国驻外外交和领事机构全年受理的领事保护和协助案件数量也持续大幅攀升,达59526件,其中领事保护案件14340件,领事协助案件45186件。
记者:当前全国各省市都在如火如荼地围绕“一带一路”国家战略和“渝新欧”等中欧铁路大通道积极深化对外开放,不断扩大对外交流必然带来大量的人员往来和经贸合作。请您谈谈做好领事保护工作与促进对外开放和推进地方经济社会发展的重要意义。
翟雷鸣:我们觉得谋发展首先要谋安全。维护好“走出去”企业自身的人员和机构的安全,是企业在海外扎根扎得深的基础,也是实现自己规模效益可持续扩展的前提,也是我们维护国家海外利益、维护人员安全权益的要求。这是一项“海外民生工程”,是一个非常庞大的系统工程,离不开各部门和社会各界的理解和支持,更离不开我们“走出去”企业对安全工作上的重视和投入。海外有风险,但采取措施就可以尽量规避风险,减少和避免损失。
“一带一路”和“渝新欧”都会涉及中亚地区,相关国家普遍信仰伊斯兰教。因国别情况不同,但是整体上看都存在有宗教的问题,存在有发展不平衡的问题,存在有法律法规相对不健全的问题,个别地方还有社会治安的问题,这些都是要注意的。关键是我们明确了要去某一个国家,就一定要做好功课。当我们要深入某一个国家的时候,还得从一些权威渠道获得权威而及时准确的相关信息。中国领事服务网和12308热线都是很有用的。我国驻外使领馆的官方网站都提供权威及时的安全提醒,有条件的人士还可以直接到外文权威网站上去看看相关信息,以便多方面的了解目的地国的情况。简而言之是四句话,一个是未雨绸缪,出发之前一定要做功课,要了解目的地国风土人情、风俗习惯、法律法规、安全风险、社会治安、以及疫病方面的情况,尽可能的了解多一些。第二句话叫入境问禁,到了别的国家不仅要知道什么事可以做,更重要的是一定要知道什么事情不能做,比如到了阿拉伯国家,是不能带酒精饮料或者酒类的,不能裸露自己的身体的,否则就会惹麻烦。第三句话呢,叫入乡随俗,到了别人的国家要按照别人的规矩行事,不能有钱就任性,不能不管不顾。第四句话就是量力而行,对于我们的企业也好,公民也好,这句话非常重要,要明白自己可以做多少事,不要勉强,明知不可为而为之是不行的。
记者:对于很多普通老百姓来说,“领事保护”还是一个比较陌生的概念。您作为外交部领事保护中心的负责人,能否用最大众化的语言告诉我们“领事保护”对于老百姓个体的意义在哪里。对于越来越多的“走出去”的中国公民,您希望对他们说些什么呢?
翟雷鸣:当今世界,没有任何一个国家和民族像中国这样有这么海量的人到国外去,也从来没有一个国家的公民像中国公民这样迅速地走出去,这是这个星球上最有意义的人口迁徙活动。2014年,我们的出境人数达到1亿1千7百万人次,内地居民在境外的纯购物消费超过1万亿元人民币,我们在境外的劳务人员累计超过700万人,留学人员累计超过了170万人,仅2014年留学生就将近50万人。这么多的人到海外去求学,去谋生,去打拼,所以我们说一个海外中国已经形成并且快速发展。这也必然带来领事保护案件和领事保护需求的激增。
如果让我用最大众话的语言概括领事保护的意义的话,那就是“同胞在哪里,我们的保护就在哪里”。请同胞们记住12308这个热线号码。12308就是“123领保”的谐音,非常好记。如果我们的公民和法人在海外感到自己的安全受到了威胁,或者我们的合法权益受到了侵害,就可以联系我们的驻外使领馆或者拨打中华人民共和国全球领事保护应急呼叫中心的热线12308来寻求帮助。这条热线从一开通就为我们在全世界的同胞提供了大量的帮助,开通当天就挽救了一位女留学生的生命。作为一名外交官,可能我们比其他任何职业的人都更加关注中国公民和企业在海外的安全。所以也希望每一位“走出去”的同胞都能够对海外安全和领事保护有最基本的了解,并务必记住12308这个号码。
记者:您多次强调企业在“走出去”的时候,要特别重视“主动构建海外发展安全”意识。您认为,在中国企业“走出去”的过程中,“主动构建海外发展安全”意识应该主要体现在哪些方面?对于越来越多的“走出去”的中国企业,您有什么样的建议呢?
2015年重庆市海外领事保护工作培训会在重庆举行,翟雷鸣在会上作报告。 摄影:唐楠
翟雷鸣:我个人认为这其实是一个问题,因为我们一直呼吁的“主动构建海外发展安全”意识同时也就是在海外中国企业防范安全风险的一个重要内容。具体做法上我们建议:首先要做安全评估,一定要把安全问题摆在第一位,要密切跟踪当地安全形势,做好预警,与当地使领馆保持联系畅通。商谈项目合同的时候,一定要和合作方提出安全问题,最好把我们的安全责任委托给当地政府、当地合作者,同时还要求业主负责解决工作签证和劳动合同问题。一方面我们对国内的劳动用工需求量比较大,另外一方面,我们庞大的劳动队伍走出去,可能会给当地政府和当地人民带来困扰,他们认为我们出去好像就是为了挣钱、就是为了抢他们的饭碗,我们希望今后尤其是工程承包的企业,一定要把劳动合同的问题跟合作方提出来。第二,完善企业的安保制度,厘清国内总部和国外分部之间的安全职责关系。境外项目要及早制订规章制度和突发事件的应急处置预案,发生事件的时候,要明确管辖职责,包括对我们总包商也要承担自己的责任。我们从十多次的海外紧急撤离行动中感觉到,有规矩和没有规矩的队伍是不一样的,没有培训、没有规矩,临时训练队伍撤起来会非常困难;第三要加大安保投入,要舍得花钱,要把安保投入计算到成本里面;第四要坚持守法经营;第五要强化员工的纪律,毕竟是在别人的国度,必须要搞清楚哪些可以做、哪些不可以做。第六要坚持经济效益和社会效益并存;第七要积极融入当地社会,提高属地化经营水平,也要注意回馈当地社会;第八要开展公共外交,更多地介绍自己,把我们好的一面介绍给别人。
在这里我尤其想强调两点,一是在海外安全风险面前再大的经济利益都应该一票否决!另外就是一定要守法经营,在国内不能干、不敢干的事情到海外也不能干。
记者:您曾经在一次演讲中谈到“领事保护保护的是合法权益,是有限的,是要付出代价”的,请问,应该如何正确理解“合法权益”“有限”“代价”等提法?
翟雷鸣:您这个问题提得非常好,领事保护不是万能的,好比说我们可以为你推荐律师,但是不能说我们推荐的律师就一定能为你打赢官司,我们可以推荐翻译,但是不能要求我们一定能够推荐到符合你需求的翻译人员。领事保护是要付出代价的,任何一次领事保护都会付出有形或无形的资源。做领保付出的是国家的外交资源,牺牲的是双边关系,甚至是几代外交官多年来在该国培育的人脉关系,这些资源属于国家,属于所有中国人民,不是属于哪几个人的。所以,有时候我们的领事保护做得很漂亮,但付出的代价是很大的。当然,如果属于不可抗的原因,比如说,天灾、地震、海啸、疫病等原因造成的领事保护案件,政府肯定责无旁贷,要尽一切努力保证我们在海外公民的安全。对于公民而言,要尽可能地避免发生由我们自身的原因造成的领事保护案件,这才是一个正确的领保观。
记者:您一直呼吁国人在海外要注意素质、注意在外形象,为什么您对这个问题有如此深刻的感受?从公众媒体的角度,除了一味的“曝光”,还应该从哪些方面进行引导?
翟雷鸣:我们中国人走出去的时间还不长,很多做法还需要规范,极少数人在海外的所作所为的确给我们带来了很多负面影响。我想对同胞们说,中国外交决不仅仅是中国外交部的外交,中国形象决不仅仅是中国外交部的形象,每一个在海外打交道的人都是中国外交的一部分,都是中国国际形象的一部分。在外国人眼中,“你,就是中国。”同时,我还要强调,一些我们在国内习以为常的消费习惯,在境外既会被当作素质不高看待,也很容易使我们成为犯罪分子下手的目标,比如中国人很土豪,大把花钱,到奢侈品店大肆购物,在外面穿金戴银,不加掩饰,尤其是一些同胞在国外照相的时候随意把行李或贵重物品放在一边,想当然地认为国外很安全,可照完相一看东西没有了。在欧洲尚且如此,更不要说在其他那些发展相对滞后、法制不健全的国家了。
领事保护工作离不开新闻媒体的支持。一般来说,我们将领事保护分为应急处置和预防性领事保护,我们认为,再好的领事保护也不如事情不要发生,所以我们非常重视预防性领事保护宣传工作,新闻媒体的作用不言而喻。但是,领事保护危机处置工作是非常特殊的一个领域,媒体的宣传一定要讲究技巧,所以也希望一直支持我们的媒体朋友能够充分理解我们工作的特殊性,能够继续协助我们更好地进行预防性领事保护宣传工作。
“Seeking Security before Pursuing Development”—The Dialogue with Zhai Leiming, deputy director general of the Department of Consular Affairs of the People's Republic of China and director of the Center for Consular Protection
□ Written by Zeng Rui
Personage introduction:Zhai Leiming, deputy director general of the Department of Consular Affairs of the People's Republic of China and director of the Center for Consular Protection
With the deepening of China's reform and opening up, more and more Chinese citizens and enterprises “go out”, and thus their overseas security is also drawing more attention of the society from all walks of life than ever before. In April this year, the Chinese government deployed naval ships for emergency evacuation of Chinese citizens in Yemen; the Chinese government took powerful “China Action” to offer assistance in Nepal earthquake and made great contribution in recent event of lost MH370 f ight, all of which make it continue to become the focus of attention the problems of Chinese citizens' overseas risk and consular protection safety. Recently, Zhai Leiming, deputy director general of the department of consular affairs of the People's Republic of China and director of the center of consular protection has made a special trip to guide foreign affairs system for launching foreign consular protection in Chongqing. Therefore,we give an exclusive interview to Zhai Leiming especially for such topics as overseas security risks of Chinese citizens and enterprises and consular protection.
Reporter: Director Zhai, welcome to come to the mountain city of Chongqing in summer. Now, more and more Chinese citizens and enterprises to go abroad and their overseas security is also getting more attention of the society from all walks of life than ever before since the Chinese government attaches great importance to the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and enterprises in the overseas. Could you tell me what's working mechanisms our country government has built currently? Which consular services can Chinese citizens and enterprises in overseas get? What do you think of the present situation of Chinese citizens and enterprises' overseas security as a decision maker and executive director of overseas safety emergencies for Chinese citizens and companies dealt by our country's foreign ministry?
Zhai Leiming: Thanks for your question. For everyone,including myself, consular protection is a new thing. Consular protection is to serve each individual citizen. In the past,because few of citizens went abroad and very few chances of emergency cases existed, there was almost no need to give some consular protection. Consular protection is a new f eld of China's diplomacy as well as one of the highlights of China's diplomacy, for it involves every Chinese who go abroad. In the process of “going out”, especially in recent ten years, Chinese citizens suffer a lot of things in overseas. According to the reports, the leader's care and public attention from people push the consular protection work to an unprecedented height.
In 2004, 11 Chinese workers were killed in Afghanistan,which shocked the whole nation. It was an event of terrorist attack against overseas Chinese citizens with most death tolls we have met so far, giving rise to high attention to the overseas security of Chinese citizens and enterprises paid by the state leaders and all walks of life. Subsequently, led by the ministry of foreign affairs, a Joint Inter-ministerial Conference Mechanism for protecting the security of overseas Chinesecitizens and institutions has been established; since 2004 since the establishment of the Joint Inter-ministerial Conference Mechanism, China has basically established central and local overseas embassies and consulates, a “five-in-one” linkage mechanism of overseas safety protection for enterprises and individuals through continuous exploration and practice, and also implemented the regular overseas risk assessment system,thus making dramatic breakthroughs in the safety protection for overseas Chinese citizens and institutions. Regardless of Libyan evacuation of overseas Chinese in 2011 or Yemen evacuation and rescue in Nepal earthquake this year, the mechanism always f rst starts, actively to help those in trouble abroad by means of gathering comprehensive power in all aspects. In April this year, the Chinese government dispatched naval ships to evacuate Chinese citizens and some foreign nationals in Yemen, which is the f rst time for China to evacuate their compatriots with armed forces in Chinese history. Earlier,when Libyan unrest happened in 2011 and the whole country kept in anarchy, the Chinese government evacuated more than 35800 people from Libya for emergency, leaving wonders in the history of global consular protection.
Anyone who has Chinese nationality in accordance with the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China shall get consular protection by the Chinese government in overseas. That is to say, all the Chinese citizens can be offered consular protection from Chinese embassies and consulates,whether these people are overseas Chinese settling abroad,or temporary traveler to go abroad or inhabitants of mainland China or Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan compatriots. Once the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and legal persons in the host country are in illegal infringement, Chinese embassies and consulates will state the relevant requirements and urge their host authorities to handle issues fairly, friendly and properly in accordance with the generally accepted principles of international law, the relevant international conventions, bilateral treaties or agreements and relevant laws of China and their host countries. Besides, Consular protection includes help or assistance our overseas embassies and consulates offer to Chinese citizens or legal person such as providing safety information about international travel, assisting to hire lawyers and translators, visiting detained personnel and helping to evacuate dangerous areas, etc.
At present, the situation of Chinese citizens and enterprises at overseas security risk is not so optimistic that it presents the characteristics of “simultaneously rising of volume and rate”. In 2014, the annual number of mainland residents outbound gets breakthrough of a hundred million,reaching117 million, a year-on-year increase of 18.453 million,a new high for 5 years. In addition, there are more than 25000 overseas Chinese enterprises, with total assets abroad of nearly $3 trillion. In 2014, the number of consular protection and assistance cases that China's overseas diplomatic and consular institutions accepted throughout the year continues to rise sharply, up to 59526, including 14340 cases of consular protection and 45186 cases of consular assistance.
Reporter: ln the current time, centered on the national strategy of “One Belt and One Road” and the big channel of Central Europe Railways such as “Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe”, all the provinces and cities nationwide are actively deepening opening to the outside world with great vigor and continuously expanding foreign exchanges,which will inevitably bring a large number of personnel exchanges and economic and trade cooperation. Please talk about the great significance of doing consular protection well to promoting the opening to the outside world and boosting the local economic and social development.
Zhai Leiming: We think that to pursue development,seeking security is the f rst priority. The safety of people and institutions in enterprises that “go out” is not only the foundation of further development for those enterprises in overseas, but is the premise of sustainable extension to achieve economies of scale and also our requirements to maintain overseas interests and personnel safety. This is a “livelihood project for overseas people” as well as very large system engineering, dependent heavily on the understanding and support from all departments and all sectors of society, and even more on the concern and commitment to security work from our enterprises which“go abroad”. In spite of overseas risk, some measures taken effectively can mitigate these risks, reduce and avoid the loss as much as possible.
Both “One Belt and One Road” and “Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe” Railway are involved in central Asia where relevant countries have common faith in Islam. Due to different national conditions, there exist religious issues, unbalanced development, relatively unsound laws and regulations and social public security problems in individual areas from the overall point of view all of which require us to pay attention. The key for us is to understand and make clear of the country we want to go. When go further to know a certain country, we must get some accurate information from authoritative sourcesin a timely manner. It is useful to turn to Chinese consular service network and hotline—12308. The official websites of overseas embassies and consulates can provide security timely authoritative warning with accurateness; if the condition allows, you can also go directly to foreign authoritative website to see related information, so that the various understanding of the situation of the destination country can be attained. In brief, there are four sentences to summarize: one is to take precautions—to get the knowledge about customs, folkways,laws and regulations, safety risk, the social security, and epidemic situation in the destination as much as possible before starting out. The second sentence is to ask about taboos and bans upon arrival in a foreign country—to keep yourself informed of what things are forbidden and what things can be done in the country you are entering; for example, in Arab countries, one can't bring alcohol drinks or liquor and can't bare his body, or it will cause trouble. The third sentence is called “do in Rome as Rome does”—to do things in accordance with the rules in foreign countries regardless of your wealth .The fourth sentence is to do within our capabilities—to know how many things you can be competent to do without reluctance, which is very important not only for our enterprises but also the citizens,this sentence is very important, for it is no use doing things that is impossible to be completed.
Reporter: For many ordinary people, “consular protection” is a relatively new concept. As head of consular protection center of the ministry of foreign affairs, could you tell us the significance of “consular protection” for the common people in the most popular language? What do you want to say to a growing number of Chinese citizens who “go out”?
Zhai Leiming: Nowadays, no country or nation like China has such a large number of people to go abroad; never before can a country like China go out so quickly; it is the most significant population migration on this planet. In the year of 2014, our outbound people reached 117 million, with pure shopping consumption abroad from mainland residents totaling more than 1 trillion yuan; Chinese labor service personnel in the overseas exceeded 7 million people and staffs who study abroad are up to more than 1.7 million people, including nearly 500000 students alone in 2014. With so many people go abroad to study,to make a living and to strive, an overseas Chinese, as we say,has been formed and in rapid development, which def nitely bring the surge in both cases and demand of consular protection.
If I had to summarize the meaning of consular protection in the most popular words that is “where compatriots are,where our protection is”. Our fellow citizens, please remember hotline number: 12308. 12308 is the harmonics of 123 consular protection, which is very easy to remember. If our citizens and legal persons abroad feel security threatened, or our legitimate rights and interests are violated, you can contact our embassies and consulates or dial the hotline—12308 in the emergency call center of consular protection of the People's Republic of China, to ask for help. The hotline has offered a lot of helps for our compatriots all over the world on its the opening from the beginning; for example, a female overseas student's life was saved on the opening day. As a diplomat, maybe we have to pay more attention to Chinese citizens and enterprises' safety in the overseas than any other professional people. So we hope that every fellow who “go out” can have the basic knowledge of overseas security and consular protection, and be sure to remember the number 12308.
Reporter: You have emphasized that when enterprises “go out”, they must pay special attention to the consciousness of “actively building overseas security of development”. Which aspects do you think the consciousness should be mainly ref ected in the process of “going out” for Chinese enterprises? And what advice do you have for a growing number of Chinese enterprises'“going out”?
Zhai Leiming: Personally, I think this is a problem,because the awareness of “actively building overseas security of development” that we have been calling for is also the important content for Chinese enterprises in overseas to guard against security risks at the same time. In particular way, we suggest that: the first thing to do is the safety assessment in which safety must be put in the first place by closely tracing the local security situation, preparing for the warning, and keeping in touch with the local embassy or consulate. In terms of negotiating project contract, security issues must be put forward to partners and the best way is to entrust security responsibility to the local government and local partners; at the same time, it requires the owner to take responsibility for solving the problems of a work visa and the labor contract. On the one hand, our demand of domestic labor employment is quite large; on the other hand, the huge “going out” f ow of labor force may bother the local government and the local people as they perhaps think we go out seemingly just for earning money andcompeting with them, and therefore we hope in the future that those enterprises especially engaging in engineering contract must be sure to make the labor contract clear with cooperators. Second, perfecting the security system of enterprises and clarifying the relationship of safety responsibility between domestic headquarters and international divisions. For outbound projects, rules and regulations and pre-arranged planning of emergency disposal shall be formulated as soon as possible to ensure the jurisdiction of clear responsibilities,and our contractors involved shall also take responsibility for their own actions. The dozen of tasks of overseas emergency evacuation distinguishes the team with rules from those without rules; it will be very diff cult to evacuate for a temporary team with no training or rules. Third, increasing security investment,we should be generous with money spent on security by putting the security input into cost. Fourth, adhering to management abide by the law. Fifth, strengthening the discipline of employees; we must make clear of what we can do and what we cannot after all we are in others' territorial dominance. Sixth,we should uphold the coexistence of economic and social benefits. Seventh, we should actively integrate into the local society, improve the management level of localization and also pay attention to the feedback of local society. Eighth, we should be endeavoring to conduct public diplomacy and to introduce ourselves much more, the positive side to others.
Here, I especially want to emphasize two points: one is that big economic interests should be one ticket veto to refuse in face of the overseas security risks. The other is that we keep the law in the management and never do anything that are forbidden or nor dare to do in the domestic even though going abroad.
Reporter: As you mentioned in a speech, the responsibility of the consular protection is to protect the limited legal right that need to be paid, but how can we understand the concept correctly such as “legal right”,“limited”, “need to be paid”?
Zhai Leiming: That's a good question. Consular protection isn't omnipotent, just like that we can recommend you a lawyer,but you should not take it for granted that the lawyer can help you win a lawsuit. We can recommend you a translator, but he may not meet your requirements. Consular protection need to be paid, any one of the protection will take tangible or intangible resources. Consular protection takes national diplomatic resources, bilateral relations, even the relationship built by several generations of diplomats with several years' effort. All these resources belong to the country and all Chinese people but not any one of the nation. Therefore, sometimes it takes great efforts for us to accomplish a perfect consular protection. Of course, if influenced by force majeure, such as natural disaster, earthquake, tsunami and disease, the government will be indispensable to make its best endeavors to ensure the safety of the overseas citizens. It is a correct outlook on consular protection that citizens should try their best to avoid cases caused by personal reasons.
Reporter: You always call on the countrymen to notice the civilized quality and outward image, why do you have such a profoundly feeling? From the public media perspective, besides blindly “exposure”, which aspects can lead us to right direction?
Zhai Leiming: It is not a long time since we going out,many behavior need to be regulated; only a few people abroad bring about negative effect. What I want to say to our fellow citizens is that Chinese diplomacy is not only the Chinese foreign ministry's diplomacy, while the image of China is not only the Chinese foreign ministry's image. Anyone dealing with others is part of Chinese diplomacy and image of China. In their eyes, “you represent China.” Meanwhile, I want to warn that some of the actions which are universal at home can be treated as uncivilized at abroad. Besides, you may be easily to be the target of the criminals. For example, Chinese people are rich, they spend money like water and always have a shopping spree. They wear gold and silver jewelry without covering up while going out. Especially for those people who leave their luggage and valuables aside while taking photos, they take it for granted that it's safe, but nothing left at last. Since all these happened in Europe, let alone other backward-developed countries without perfect legal system.
Consular protection cannot live without the media. Generally speaking, consular protection includes emergency disposal and preventive consular protection. We always stick to the point that best consular protection isn't as good as nothing happened, so we pay much attention to the publicity of preventive consular protection. The effect is self-evident. However, consular emergency disposal is a special field,great skills are needed for media publicity, thus, we sincerely hope the media fellows that support us as always can fully understand the particularity of our work, and go on helping us to have a better publicity of the preventive consular protection.