Society

Census results no ground for repatriation

By Shan Juan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-10-20 19:54

Foreigners living illegally in China would not be repatriated based on information collected during the 6th national census, said an official with the National Bureau of Statistics Wednesday.

All of the personal information got through the census would be kept secret according to the regulation on population census and those of the foreigners collected nationwide is required to hand in directly to the bureau for data processing, said Feng Nailin, a division director of the bureau.

"That could help better ensure their privacy," he told China Daily.

For the Chinese nationals, the data got are processed regionally.

It is the first time for China to include foreigners and people from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, who live, work or study in the Chinese mainland in census.

"With that, we could get a better picture of the international migration related to China and provide better services to them living in China," he said.

The census is a national task which needs support from the all and more than 20 government departments are involved, he said.

"Compared with previous five, departments like the ministries of housing and urban-rural development, land and resources are new," he said.