Research On Paths To Improve Consular Protection In China

One of the four principles of international law that define the jurisdiction of a sovereign country is Ratione personae,which means the country governs on the basis of nationality whether its citizen's in or out of the country.Therefore,the country has the right to protect its citizen whenever the citizen's legitimate rights and interests are violated,even if the citizen is outside its borders.The most important and commonly used means for most countries in the world to protect its citizens and institutions is consular protection.With the China's deeper integration into the world economy,more and more Chinese citizens and enterprises have begun to go abroad to engage in overseas activities such as tourism,employment,investment,schooling,and settlement.The number of out-bounders has risen sharply in successive years;the amount of overseas investment and projects has increased dramatically;the area of Chinese activities is all over the world;and the purpose has become more diverse.However,at the same time,the international security environment has become increasingly complicated,and various traditional and non-traditional risk factors are constantly highlighted,all of which threaten the safety and interests of Chinese overseas citizens and enterprises.Since the year 2004,the consular protection witnessed rapid progress in China.Legal basis has been improved;special funds have been established;mechanisms with Chinese characteristics have been gradually developed though exploration and practices.A comprehensive "5-in-1" consular protection system consisting of central and local governments,embassies and consulates,enterprises and individual has been initially established.However,due to the late start and weak foundation,Chinese consular protection still has many deficiencies especially when facing the increasing overseas protection demand in recent years.And there's also a big gap compared with developed countries.Giving such a background,it is of great theoretical and practical significance to conduct in-depth analysis and research on the consular protection system in China.This paper consists of 6 parts:1.Introduction;2.The structural system and operating mechanism of consular protection;3.Main contents and practical developments of consular protection;4.Path selections of consular protections;5.Problems of consular protection in China and the causes;6.Countermeasures for the development of consular protection in China.It starts with sorting and defining the concepts related to consular protection including its structure and operating system,and then looks back at the practical development of consular and consular protection system.And through analysis and comparison between China and foreign countries on their path selections of consular protection,this paper points out the problems with China's consular protection at present and proposes path selection for improvement:1.To enhance legal basis;2.To relieve the conflict between supply and demand;3.To enlarge multiple participation;4.To promote prevention and propaganda;5.To properly handle internet sentiments.