1. Reported Stateless Persons
China has not reported any stateless persons to UNHCR since it began compiling such data in 2019. UNHCR has noted China as a country which has information regarding stateless people but no reliable data.
2. Persons at Risk of Statelessness
Several independent articles have examined stateless populations and those at risk of statelessness within China, which include children born in China to North Korean women, foreign spouses, and children excluded from the hukou household registration system. As many as 30,000 children born in the territory of China to undocumented North Korean mothers (some of whom have been trafficked into China) and Chinese fathers are at risk of statelessness as they remain unregistered at birth and in the household registration system. Despite having the right to citizenship through their fathers under the citizenship law of China, children frequently remain unregistered due to their mother’s undocumented status and potential deportation and its repercussions on the mother and child.
The Uyghur population, a Turkic and majority Muslim ethnic group predominantly residing in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, termed by activists as ‘occupied East Turkistan’, in northwest China, continues to face a severe risk of statelessness due to the Chinese government’s systematic denial of passport renewal for Uyghurs living overseas. Other ethnic Muslim minorities, such as Kazakhs and Uzbeks, have also faced similar systemic discrimination. More than one-million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and Uzbeks have been arbitrarily detained by the Chinese government since 2017. The government insists that Uyghurs return to China for passport renewal, however, this is a dangerous proposition considering there are many reported forced disappearances. Those who do not return also face living abroad without citizenship, severely impacting their livelihoods, freedom of movement, and ability to establish new lives outside China. This denial of passports is a strategy of control by the Chinese government that violates international human rights standards, rendering Uyghurs stateless in countries where they cannot apply for refugee status. Hui peoples, another Muslim ethnic minority group, have also been recognized as facing systemic discrimination when attempting to apply for passports. The Chinese government’s discriminatory policies, treating Muslim ethnic minorities as threats to national security, further increase the risk of statelessness among these populations in China.
The Tibetan population of China, historically having faced occupation and systemic discrimination, also experiences a significant risk of statelessness. The Chinese government’s stringent control over Tibetans’ movements involves the systematic denial and recall of passports. Gaining access to a passport is an incredibly hard task for Tibetans. Only a minimal number of Tibetans in the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan areas have been issued passports, and many have experienced the confiscation of their existing ones. The denial of passport issuance is not only an individual punishment but also extends to families and friends, especially those associated with political prisoners or individuals involved in protests. This denial often comes with increased militarization and security measures, particularly in regions marked by protests and dissent over China’s occupation of Tibet.
3. Stateless Refugee
The scale of statelessness in China is uncertain; however, the requirement to register children and maintain registration in the household registration system (hukou) leaves millions with an uncertain status. China’s 2010 census showed that at least 13 million children lacked hukou registration, preventing them from accessing the full rights of citizens. This group covers both children born to irregular migrants (discussed above) as well as those born outside of China’s one-child policy prior to 2016.
4. Undetermined Nationalities
While reported figures of stateless populations may be low in East Asia, thousands of individuals remain with undetermined nationalities. China’s 2010 census showed that at least 13 million children lacked household registration (hukou), preventing them from accessing the full rights of citizens. In Japan’s 2020 census, the nationalities of 131,684 foreigners in Japan were categorized as “stateless and name of country not reported”. Japan is the only country in East Asia with English-language and publicly accessible census statistics that include a stateless/undetermined citizenship status of foreigners.
Additionally, in February 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics in China reported that 280 million people lived outside of the jurisdiction of their household registration – which limits the location where one can live and work — limiting their ability to access government services and education for children and enforce employment and labor rights. While this cohort may officially be considered Chinese nationals, their ability to access any of the accompanying rights is fundamentally limited.
