EMBARRASSED by the rising tide of illegal emigration, China yesterday vowed to stop the outflow of human cargo, while calling on the international community, especially the United States, to co-operate.
''Illegal emigration has become an international issue,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Wu Jianmin said, accusing some overseas groups of being behind the illegal activities.
Stressing that the Chinese Government was always opposed to illegal emigration, he said they had already taken a series of measures to prevent it, including severely punishing people who masterminded the smuggling activities.
The measures included increasing identity checks in the provinces most affected, reinforcing the fight against traffickers and educating the people on immigration law.
The semi-official China News Service reported yesterday that two counties in Fujian had sentenced to jail 14 people who organised and arranged the smuggling of people outside the mainland.
The two separate trials on Saturday and Sunday were aimed at ''stopping immediately'' the rampant growth of illegal emigration in coastal areas, it said. They were sentenced from one to five years in jail, plus fines.
The official media has in the past few days blamed the US policy of granting residency to self-proclaimed asylum seekers once they landed for the rise of illegal emigration.
