Coronavirus: China offers US$4,500 reward for information about illegal foreigners

Scheme launched in Yunnan province in bid to stop people infected with Covid-19 sneaking into the country

City of Ruili was locked down in September after two people from Myanmar, who had crossed into China illegally, tested positive

Reading Time:2 minutes

Authorities in Yunnan are offering rewards to members of the public who provide information about people entering the country illegally. Photo: Weibo

Published: 2:03pm, 30 Oct 2020Updated: 10:08pm, 30 Oct 2020

Authorities in southwest China are offering rewards of up to 30,000 yuan (US$4,500) for information about foreigners living, working or travelling illegally in the region, as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The Yunnan provincial government announced a tiered structure for the payments on social media on Thursday night.

People who provide information leading to the arrest of an individual foreigner would be paid up to 1,000 yuan, while those who actually caught them would receive between 1,000 and 3,000 yuan, it said on WeChat.

The reward for information about groups “organising or transporting foreigners illegally across the border” was 2,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan, while tips that played an “extremely big role” in the crackdown would be worth between 10,000 yuan and 30,000 yuan, it said.

Members of the public can also earn up to 1,000 yuan for providing information that leads to the arrest of individuals who help foreigners live or work in China illegally, or are involved in the production of fake documents.

The aim of the scheme is to weed out foreigners who are living or working in China without the required papers, the government said.

The campaign comes as China is trying to prevent new coronavirus infections being “imported” into the country. Yunnan shares a 4,000km (600-mile) border with the Southeast Asian countries of Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.