China Needs To Change Its Policy Regarding North Korean Refugees

China has taken a lot of well-deserved heat on its human rights record heading into the Beijing Olympics which start August 8.

Heading the list is international criticism to the communist country's handling of the protests in the ethnic Tibetan regions. The demonstrations have resulted in deaths and imprisonments.

China has also been stung by critics for its close relationship with Sudan and not doing enough to pressure the government in northern Sudan to halt the bloodshed in Darfur.

But overlooked in the human rights violations by China is the government's on-going policy regarding the cruel, inhumane treatment of North Korean refugees.

Thousands of North Koreans – many of them Christians – have fled to China in search of a better life. Some try to leave permanently as they seek freedom or flee religious persecution, but most cross the border in search of jobs or food so they can return and support their starving families in North Korea. North Koreans cross the Tumen River at points where it is shallow or simply walk across in the winter when sections are frozen, to enter China. It is estimated that between 100,000 and 300,000 North Korean refugees are hiding in China.

Reaching China does not mean freedom for refugees because China has an agreement with North Korea to forcibly repatriate all refugees. Since leaving North Korea is a capital offense, China's policy essentially sends refugees to their death. Refugees who are forcibly repatriated to North Korea are brutally interrogated. Depending on their responses, they are either executed or imprisoned in one of North Korea's many political prison camps.

China is a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. The Refugee Convention dictates that China should grant access to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the region between China and North Korea, where most of the refugees are in hiding, and also to allow the UNHCR a role in determining the status of the refugees. China refuses to allow the UNHCR this access to the border region and to the refugees. The Chinese government justifies their actions by calling the refugees "economic migrants," people who are just seeking a higher standard of living.

The fate of repatriated refugees is well-documented, but China continues to actively seek North Korean refugees with its police force, and to assist in the interrogation, beatings, and imprisonment of North Korean refugees. In the last months of 2007, China ramped up the number of repatriations, trying to send as many North Koreans as possible back to their homeland before the Olympics. During this Olympic year, China is under great international scrutiny and has stopped or decreased most forced repatriations in an effort to present a good human rights image to the international community. For this reason it is imperative that we shine a spotlight on the issue of forced repatriation before China resumes this cruel practice when the Olympics have finished.

Since China has been such an ill-fated destination for North Korean refugees, they must continue until they reach South Korea or another country which will grant them refugee status. These refugees are at great risk for abuse in China because the local population can threaten to turn them in to the local police if they do not cooperate. The result is that between 70 to 90 percent of North Korean women refugees are victimized by sex traffickers and forced into brothels, or are sold to men as sexual slaves or wives. Some refugees are forced into slave labor.

Refugees who are able to remain in hiding often live in caves in the countryside and are forced to forage for roots to eat. They are at great risk of starvation, exposure and illness. Some refugees are able to assimilate into the Chinese-Korean population on the border, while others are being sheltered in safe houses run by Christian organizations.

If a refugee is caught and repatriated to North Korea, they are asked specific questions regarding their contact with Christians. Of course, they are asked where they crossed into China, where they went and what they did. Specifically, they are asked two questions. The first question is whether they had attended a Korean-Chinese church. The second is whether they had any contact with South Koreans in China who were representatives of religious organizations doing charitable and humanitarian work in the border area. Those who affirmed this contact were either executed or treated more severely than others who were repatriated.

We need to put a full-court press on China to change its horrendous conduct regarding these refugees. I urge you to participate in North Korea Freedom Week (NKFW) April 26-May 3 sponsored by the North Korea Freedom Coalition. NKFW is devoted to raising awareness of the plight of North Koreans – including the refugees – and the massive human rights and religious rights abuses by the governments of both China and North Korea.

There are protests, lobbying on Capitol Hill and a prayer vigil. You can also help by sending emails to Representatives on behalf of North Korean refugees, sending letters to be read over Free North Korean Radio and hosting a screening of the documentary Seoul Train. Numerous resources are available, including daily prayer guides. For complete information on all the events and how you can get involved, go to www.OpenDoorsUSA.org or www.nkfreedom.org.

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Dr. Carl Moeller is president/CEO of Open Doors USA