![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/assets-cdn.kathmandupost.com\/uploads\/source\/news\/2020\/news\/Deporting_Chinese_01.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nChinese nationals on their way to Tribhuvan International Airport. Angad Dhakal\/TKP<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nepal and China have not signed\u00a0an extradition treaty, but during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in October, the countries had signed a Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters treaty. As per the pact, Nepal can deport Chinese nationals arrested in Nepal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A senior security official who has been closely following the arrest of Chinese nationals told the Post that such arrests have occurred in Malaysia and the Philippines as well, where a large number of Chinese have been detained in the last few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In case of Malaysia,\u00a0even though the Chinese\u00a0were deported, Malaysian authorities thoroughly investigated them, carrying out forensic analysis of their phones and computers to ascertain if any of them had acquired any critical national data, the official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Likewise,\u00a0in the case of the Philippines, in spite of close relations between Rodrigo Duterte, the country\u2019s president, and Beijing, all the Chinese nationals arrested were meticulously investigated. Nationalist parties in the Philippines have demanded that strong rules be implemented regarding Chinese nationals entering and working in the country, with Duterte’s defence chief expressing alarm over the large Chinese presence and their involvement in illegal activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTherefore, there is a need to investigate the case by at least analysing the electronic data on the equipment held by the Chinese to rule out any possible threats to national security before deporting them,\u201d said the security official who did not wish to be named.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are also questions regarding the fate of the Chinese nationals once they arrive in China. As Nepal does not have the death penalty, it would be ethically wrong to deport the Chinese if there is a possibility that they could face execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the arrest, the Oli administration has maintained that the Chinese nationals will be deported as long as they were found guilty of breaching visa rules. However, the deportation took place after Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa held delegation-level talks with Zhao Kezhi, a Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security, on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The deportation, which took place after security agencies failed to establish any criminal charges against them, has left many questions unanswered. Kabin Adhikari\/TKP<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n A statement issued after the meeting failed to mention the arrest of Chinese nationals in Kathmandu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMatters pertaining to mutual interest, including the promotion of bilateral cooperation in public security, cross-border crime, capacity building and border management were discussed during the meeting,\u201d read the statement. \u201cBoth the leaders agreed to enhance cooperation and communication between law enforcement agencies of the two countries for maintaining peace and security across the border.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Home Ministry and the Nepal Police have both failed to make public the nature of the crimes the Chinese had committed on Nepali soil or in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In normal practice, any Chinese national can visit Nepal on a tourist visa. Any foreign national, however, cannot be deported until and unless a criminal case is established in Nepal, said human rights defenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is no doubt that the operation was carried out at the behest of the Chinese government and now, they [the Chinese] are being handed over to China under pressure,\u201d said Indra Aryal, chairperson of the Nepal Human Rights Organisation. \u201cThere is no guarantee that these people will not face torture in China, which has severe capital punishment provisions, including the death penalty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A security official, who did not wish to be named citing the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed to the Post that there was pressure from China to deport all the arrested Chinese nationals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another top investigation official told the Post on condition of anonymity that Chinese officials had repeatedly told Nepali officials that the arrested Chinese had \u201cdamaged China\u2019s image in Nepal\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prior to the December 23 raids, a team from the Chinese Public Security Ministry was in Kathmandu, according to top security officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The team stayed in Kathmandu for over a week and met with top government officials, including officials from the Home Ministry and Nepal Police chief Sarbendra Khanal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though security officials say they were unable to establish cases against the arrested Chinese due to a lack of technical know-how, there are concerns whether over the entire exercise was just a premise to deport them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chinese authorities were quick to deactivate the passports of those arrested\u2014security officials had recovered only 67 passports\u2014and issue travel documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n China on Wednesday sent two chartered planes to Kathmandu to take the Chinese back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Home Secretary Prem Kumar Rai, however, rebuffed all allegations that the entire operation had been carried out at China\u2019s behest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is not just the Chinese, we are going to launch operations against all those who are living in Nepal illegally and involved in visa fraud,\u201d said Rai. \u201cThose who are doing business on tourist visas will be deported.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Rai,\u00a0a bigger number of Chinese nationals living\u00a0in Nepal and involved in suspicious activities have already left of their own volition after the December 23 operation. He did not explain how and why they left and why they were not arrested if they were involved in suspicious activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDeportation is fine; it\u2019s an international procedure. But we should at least know that charges on which these Chinese were arrested,\u201d said Malla, the former police official. \u201cThe grounds on which they were deported should be made public. The clouds of suspicion have already thickened as various versions have appeared in the media on the arrest and deportation episode.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rights activists too expressed concern over the deported Chinese nationals\u2019 human rights once they are in their home country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe government has not been mindful of the Chinese legal system,\u201d said Aryal. \u201cSending them back without establishing a case is illegal. This is against our rules, our constitution and our commitment to human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Department of Immigration on Wednesday deported all 122 Chinese nationals who were arrested from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1866,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,19,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nepal","category-news","category-politics-news"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/assets-cdn.kathmandupost.com\/uploads\/source\/news\/2020\/news\/Deported-_chinese-(1).jpg\")
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