Laws of the People's Republic of China

    Article 1  These Measures are enacted in accordance with the Law of the
People's Republic of China on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of
Returned Overseas Chinese and the Family Members of Overseas Chinese.

    Article 2  The identity of returned overseas Chinese and family members of
overseas Chinese shall be scrutinized and affirmed by departments of overseas
Chinese affairs of local governments at county level or above where their
domicile is registered, on the basis of the certificates issued by their work
unit or subdistrict neighborhood office, or by the people's government of
village, ethnic village or township. If necessary, assistance can be provided
by the diplomatic or consular missions abroad of the People's Republic of
China, or by Association of Returned Overseas Chinese.

    Identity of the other relatives who have been supported by overseas
Chinese and returned overseas Chinese, shall be examined and affirmed on the
basis of the certificate of forstership provide by the notary public office.

    Article 3  The overseas Chinese who wants to return to the country for
permanent residence, shall apply by himself (herself) to the diplomatic,
consular missions or other organs abroad authorized by the Foreign Ministry of
the People's Republic of China, or apply by himself (herself) or by his (her)
relatives in the country to the public security organs of the city or county
where he (she) is going to settle down. The certificate of settlement shall be
issued by the public security organs of provinces, autonomous regions or the
municipalities directly under the Central Government, according to relevant
state regulations.

    Article 4  Local people's governments and departments concerned, shall
make arrangements for overseas Chinese who have returned to the country for
permanent residence, according to relevant state regulations.

    Article 5  The All-China Association of Returned Overseas Chinese and its
local organizations, shall conduct their activities according to their
constitutions, to protect the lawful rights and interests of returned overseas
Chinese and the family members of overseas Chinese.

    Returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas Chinese shall
have the right to establish other social organizations according to law and to
conduct legitimate activities suitable to their needs.

    The lawful rights and interests, and the legitimate activities of the
social organizations of returned overseas Chinese and the family members of
overseas Chinese conducted according to their constitutions, shall be
protected by law. The property owned by such organizations in accordance with
law, shall not be appropriated or infringed upon by any organizations or
individuals.

    Article 6  The state shall, by taking proper measures, give support to
enterprises such as agricultural or forest farms which have provided placement
for returned overseas Chinese.

    The funds and materials specially provided by the state to enterprises
such as agricultural or forest farms which have provided placement for
returned overseas Chinese, shall be allocated and used for the specific
purpose by local people's governments and relevant departments.

    Article 7  Enterprises such as agricultural or forest farms which have
provided placement for returned overseas Chinese shall, according to law, have
the right to use the state-owned land, mountain forests, beaches, or water
areas and other natural resources which they have lawfully used. Their lawful
rights and interests or the means of production, corps and products shall be
protected by law, which no organizations or individuals may appropriate or
infringe upon.

    Disputes between enterprises such as agricultural or forest farms which
have provided placement for returned overseas Chinese and other organizations
or individuals on the ownership of land and other natural resources, shall be
solved by way of consultation between the parties or handled in accordance
with relevant laws or regulations in case of failure in consultation.

    Article 8  Enterprises such as agricultural or forest farms which have
provided placement for returned overseas Chinese may, in the light of
practical conditions, set up schools and medical and health care institutions,
to which the state shall give support and aid with respect to facilities and
funds, and the local people's governments with teachers, medical personnel and
their training.

    Article 9  Returned overseas Chinese and family members of overseas
Chinese may invest in the establishment of industrial and commercial
enterprises in various forms according to law. Their lawful rights and
interests shall be protected by law.

    Local people's governments shall support returned overseas Chinese and
family members of overseas Chinese to invest in the establishment of
industrial and commercial enterprises, in the development of barren hills,
waste lands and beaches, or to engage in agriculture, forestry, animal
husbandry, sideline and fishery production.

    Acceptance by returned overseas Chinese and family members of overseas
Chinese of donations of small-sized tools of production from their relatives
and friends outside the country for direct use in industrial and agricultural
production, processing, maintenance, and import of fine seeds, saplings, fine
breed of domestic animals, fowls and eggs approved shall be handled in
accordance with the relevant state regulations.

    Article 10  Local people's governments and relevant departments shall
support returned overseas Chinese and family members of overseas Chinese to
set up public welfare undertakings in the country, the lawful rights and
interests of which shall be protected by law.

    Acceptance by returned overseas Chinese and family members of overseas
Chinese of materials donated by their relatives and friends outside the
country and used directly in public welfare undertakings, shall enjoy
preferential treatment of duty reduction or exemption upon examination and
approval of the application made by the organization that manages the public
welfare undertakings.

    Article 11  The state shall protect the ownership of private houses in the
country of returned overseas Chinese and family members of overseas Chinese.
Returned overseas Chinese and family members of overseas Chinese shall,
according to law, have the right to possess, use, dispose of or profit from
their private houses, which no organizations or individuals may appropriate or
infringe upon.

    Article 12  Those who rent the private houses of returned overseas Chinese
and family members of overseas Chinese shall sign a contract of lease with the
leasor, and shall register for record in the local competent authority of
house property. At the termination of the lease contract, they shall return
the houses back to the leasor.

    Article 13  The dismantlement unit shall, in accordance with relevant
state regulations, make due compensation and appropriate arrangements for the
returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas Chinese whose
private houses are to be dismantled and removed as the state requisitions the
land for national construction according to law. Before dismantling, the
dismantlement unit shall provide necessary document of approval, the plan and
the scheme of dismantling as stipulated by the state and apply to the
competent authorities of house property of local people's government at county
level or above for permission.

    Article 14  Students who are returned overseas Chinese, children of
returned overseas Chinese and children, residing in the country, of overseas
Chinese, shall, in accordance with relevant state regulations, be given
special considerations in respect of admission to schools of various kinds
after compulsory education, by local enrollment departments in the light of the
actual conditions.

    Article 15  Students who are returned overseas Chinese, children of
returned overseas Chinese and children, residing in the country, of overseas
Chinese, shall be given priority to employment on an equal basis with others,
by state organs, social organizations or state-owned enterprises and
institutions.

    The relevant authorities shall give support and aid to students who are
returned overseas Chinese, children of returned overseas Chinese and children,
residing in the country, of overseas Chinese, who get organized to obtain
employment or seek jobs on their own.

    Article 16  Returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas
Chinese may apply to go abroad for the purpose of studying at their own
expense.

    The returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas Chinese
who have record of formal schooling of undergraduate course or above, and
apply to go abroad for the purpose of studying at their own expense, shall be
given preferential treatment in accordance with relevant state regulations.

    Article 17  The returned overseas Chinese and the family members of
overseas Chinese who go abroad for the purpose of studying at their own
expense, shall have a retention period in public employment for one year from
the date his (her) departure from the country is approved if he (she) is a
public employee, or shall remain his (her) status as a student according to
relevant state regulations if he (she) is a student at school of higher
learning.

    Returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas Chinese who
require the state to arrange jobs after finishing study abroad at their own
expense, shall contact the diplomatic or consular missions abroad of the
People's Republic of China to register half a year before graduation, and
shall be given the same treatment of job arrangement with the students of same
level studying abroad at public expense, by competent authorities of education
or personnel department of the state, in accordance with relevant regulations.

    Article 18  Overseas remittance constitutes legal income of returned
overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas Chinese, its ownership
shall be protected by law and be given preferential treatment in respect of
tax exemption according to law. No organizations or individuals can
misappropriate, embezzle, forcibly deduct, delay payment, debit and credit
without permission or freeze and confiscate unlawfully.

    Article 19  The ownership and the right of use of residences bought or
constructed by returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas
Chinese with overseas remittance, shall be protected by law.

    Local people's governments and relevant departments, shall give
consideration to returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas
Chinese who construct houses with overseas remittance, on construction land,
materials and forces of construction.

    Article 20  The state shall protect the contacts and communications
between returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas Chinese
and their relatives and friends outside the country according to law. No
organizations or individuals shall impose restrictions and interference
unlawfully.

    The freedom and privacy of communications of returned overseas Chinese and
the family members of overseas Chinese shall be protected by law, no
organizations or individuals can open, hide, scrap or steal their postal
matters illegally. The postal departments shall compensate or take remedial
measures for the loss, damage or deficiency in contents of the postal matters
with receipts for addressees of returned overseas Chinese and the family
members of overseas Chinese according to law.

    Article 21  The unit, in which returned overseas Chinese and the family
members of overseas Chinese work, shall put forward its views in time to their
application to leave the country for private matter. The municipal or county
public security organs, where the returned overseas Chinese and the family
members of overseas Chinese are registered for their domicile, shall make a
decision whether they approve or disapprove the application and inform the
applicants within 30 days after receiving the application, or, 60 days for
those public security organs in remote and inaccessible areas.

    Applicants shall have the right to inquire if no notice with regard to
results of examination for approval is given within the time limit prescribed
in the preceding paragraph. The accepting organs shall make an appropriate
reply. Applicants shall, if considering the decision of disapproving their
departure from the country as not in line with the relevant laws and
regulations, have the right to appeal to the higher public security organs,
who shall dispose of the matter and make a reply.

    For returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas Chinese
who desire to leave the country urgently for special circumstances such as
critical illness or deaths of their directly-related members or the need for
disposition of property outside the country within a prescribed time limit,
the public security organs shall give priority to handling the matter on the
basis of valid certificates provided by the applicants.

    Article 22  The matter of going abroad for the purpose of visiting their
relatives by returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas
Chinese, who work in state organs, social organizations or state-owned
enterprises and institutions, and, who left their posts as veteran cadres,
retired or quitted their posts, shall be dealt with in accordance with
relevant state regulations. The units, in which they work, or, the departments
concerned, shall make no provisions infringing upon their rights and interests
of normally going abroad for the purpose of visiting their relatives.

    Article 23  For staff members and workers of returned overseas Chinese and
the family members of overseas Chinese, who work in state organs, social
organizations or state-owned enterprises and institutions, apply to leave the
country and settle down abroad, the units in which they work, after the staff
members or workers get the entry visa from the country (or region) in which
they are going to settle down, shall go through their quitting formalities and
provide severance pay according to relevant state regulations.

    Returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas Chinese, who
left their posts as veteran cardres, retired or quitted their posts from state
organs, social organizations and state-owned enterprises and institutions and
settled down outside the country, shall every year provide to their former
work units a living certificate produced by the diplomatic or consular
missions abroad of the People's Republic of China, or, that produced by the
local notary public office and authenticated by China's diplomatic or consular
missions abroad, shall continue to receive their pensions after leaving the
country for settling down abroad.

    The work units of the staff members and workers and the departments
concerned listed in Section 1 and Section 2 of this Article, shall make no
provisions infringing upon their rights and interests of normally leaving the
country for settling down abroad.

    Article 24  For the treatment for staff members and workers of returned
overseas Chinese working in enterprises and institutions of collective
ownership, after leaving the country for the purpose of visiting their
relatives or settling down abroad, the people's governments of the provinces,
autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government
may make relevant regulations with reference to the treatment of the personnel
of the same category in state-owned enterprises and institutions integrating
with their own specific conditions.

    Article 25  Returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas
Chinese who have been approved to leave the country for the purpose of
visiting their relatives or settling down abroad may exchange a certain amount
of foreign currency in accordance with relevant state regulations. For those
who have left the country and settled down abroad, their pensions after they
left their posts as veteran cadres, retired or quitted their posts may be
changed into foreign currency and remitted abroad, or brought outside the
country.

    Article 26  The diplomatic, consular missions abroad of the People's
Republic of China shall protect the legitimate rights and interests, outside
the country, of returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas
Chinese in accordance with the international treaties to which the People's
Republic of China is a party or has acceded or with international practice.

    The departments concerned and the diplomatic, consular missions abroad of
the People's Republic of China, shall, provide help to returned overseas
Chinese and the family members of overseas Chinese who need to dispose of
their property outside the country or to inherit or accept the estate, legacy
or donation, and, if necessary, handle the relevant matter on their behalf.

    The diplomatic, consular missions abroad of the People's Republic of China
shall provide help to handle the relevant matter to receive pensions outside
the country for returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas
Chinese and to receive, transfer the money on their behalf.

    Returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas Chinese who
transfer their property abroad into the country shall handle the matter in
accordance with relevant state regulations. The foreign exchange transformed
from their property and remitted into the country shall, according to law,
enjoy preferential treatment of duty exemption.

    Article 27  Returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas
Chinese shall, where their lawful rights and interests are violated, have the
right to request the relevant competent departments to handle the matter in
accordance with law, or, bring a suit in a people's court according to law.

    Article 28  For personnel of state organs who violate the rights and
interests of returned overseas Chinese and the family members of overseas
Chinese, their work units or higher competent authorities shall instruct them
to correct or give administrative sanctions, or, if the circumstances of a
case are serious and if it constitutes a criminal offence, the personnel shall
be prosecuted for criminal liability according to law.

    Article 29  The provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly
under the Central Government may, pursuant to the Law of the People's Republic
of China on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Returned Overseas
Chinese and the Family Members of Overseas Chinese with these Measures and
relevant regulations, formulate measures for implementation respectively.

    Article 30  Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs of the State Council of the
People's Republic of China shall be responsible for the interpretation of
these Measures.

    Article 31  These Measures shall enter into force as of the date of its
promulgation.