Backlash in China over draft rule on permanent residency for foreigners

Many Chinese voice strong opposition to proposed regulation amid rising nationalist sentiment fuelled by coronavirus propaganda

New rule would ease conditions to apply, including by lowering the investment requirement

Reading Time:4 minutes

The reaction to the proposal chimes with the state media narrative that countries have turned their backs on China over the virus epidemic. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 6:00pm, 5 Mar 2020Updated: 10:03pm, 5 Mar 2020

A proposed regulation to make it a little easier for foreigners to get permanent residency in China has caused uproar online, with many Chinese expressing strong opposition to the move.

China’s permanent residency requirements are some of the toughest in the world, and foreign applicants would still need to meet strict education and investment conditions under the draft released by the Ministry of Justice last week. But it was announced at a time when nationalist sentiment is rising – stoked by state media propaganda on the coronavirus epidemic.

The draft – which will be open for public comment until March 27 – met with a backlash on social media. By Wednesday, a hashtag on the regulation had drawn more than 3 million comments on Weibo, China’s Twitter, with most taking a hardline stance against the move.

“The Chinese people are united in the face of the pandemic and have shown impressive solidarity as a nation,” one person who opposed the new rules wrote on Weibo. “I wonder which of the permanent residents would serve China wholeheartedly.”

Travellers arrive in Beijing on Wednesday as the coronavirus continues to spread. China’s permanent residency requirements are some of the toughest in the world. Photo: Reuters

Another commenter also cited the coronavirus crisis, saying foreigners had a choice to leave the country while Chinese had to stay.

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