The following document is the 2017 budget for the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the PRC State Council, which was responsible for education, propaganda, and other services aimed at Chinese nationals living abroad. The Overseas Chinese Affairs Office was eliminated in a 2018 Chinese government reorganization and its functions were assigned to the Central United Front Work Department.

Source: Website of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, April 7, 2017. The budget itself is dated April 2017. 2017 was the last full year of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office’s existence; in March 2018, it was incorporated into the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central United Front Work Department (中央统战部) as part of a major reorganization of the CPC Central Committee and PRC government bureaucracies.

The Chinese source text is available online at:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200520133713/http://www.gqb.gov.cn//upload_pic/t/5/U153P21T5D220F597DT20170407135503.pdf
US $1 ≈ 7 Chinese Yuan Renminbi (RMB), as of August 17, 2020.

Translator: Etcetera Language Group, Inc.
Editor: Ben Murphy, CSET Translation Lead

Part 1 Overview: Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council

1. Main Functions

The Overseas Chinese Affairs Office is a ministry-level administrative organ under the direct supervision of the State Council, in charge of overseas Chinese¹ affairs. Its main responsibilities are:

(1) Developing policies and plans for overseas Chinese affairs, drafting relevant laws and regulations and overseeing their implementation.

(2) Researching and investigating domestic and international overseas Chinese information and affairs, reporting to the Party Central Committee and the State Council. Organizing research projects relating to overseas Chinese policies, theories, and key issues in overseas Chinese work. Informing ministries involved in overseas Chinese work of the current status of overseas Chinese work.

(3) Supporting the Premier of the State Council in overseas Chinese work. Organizing relevant organs and civil groups in conducting overseas Chinese-related work. Guiding local relevant departments in overseas Chinese work. Cooperating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in guiding Chinese embassy (consulate) abroad on handling overseas Chinese work.

(4) Overseeing work related to returned overseas Chinese (归侨) and the families of overseas Chinese (侨眷). Coordinating, according to laws, returning overseas Chinese, their relatives, and overseas Chinese to legally defend their rights within China. Working with relevant departments to handle unexpected overseas Chinese matters. Participating in the supervision of significant overseas Chinese donations. Supporting relevant departments in arranging placement for representatives of returning overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese relatives.

(5) Overseeing and maintaining relationships with and services for overseas Chinese and ethnic Chinese (华人), and organizations thereof. Maintaining relationships with overseas Chinese communities in Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions (SAR). Working with relevant organs on Taiwan-oriented overseas Chinese affairs. Handling necessary approval services.

(6) Overseeing and facilitating economic and technological exchanges related to overseas Chinese. Resolving overseas Chinese-related economic complaints.

(7) Overseeing and facilitating propaganda, cultural exchange, and Chinese language education matters related to overseas Chinese.

(8) Carrying out other work assigned by the State Council.

II Departmental Budget Unit Composition

The budget of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, by unit composition, has two parts: The office budget, and the directly affiliated institutions budget.

Secondary budget units covered by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council’s budget for the year 2017 include:

(1) The Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council

(2) Jinan University

(3) Huaqiao University

(4) China News Service

(5) Huasheng Monthly (electronic version) (华声报)

(6) Beijing Chinese Language and Culture College (北京华文学院)

(7) Overseas Chinese Affairs Cadre School (侨务干部学院)

(8) Overseas Chinese Affairs Office internal service center

(9) He Xiangning Art Museum

1. Translator’s note: PRC law recognizes three categories of people as falling under the purview of overseas Chinese (侨) affairs. The first category, “overseas Chinese” (华侨), consists of PRC nationals who live or reside outside of the People’s Republic of China. Second, “returned overseas Chinese” (归侨) are former overseas Chinese who have moved back to the PRC. The third category, “family of overseas Chinese” (侨眷), refers to the immediate family members of overseas Chinese, regardless of whether these family members ever lived overseas themselves or not. Chinese often use the term “overseas Chinese” colloquially to refer to ethnic Chinese who are not PRC nationals, but according to Chinese law, non-PRC citizens are treated as foreigners and fall under the purview of the foreign affairs bureaucracy, not the overseas Chinese affairs one.