East China city launches hotline to better serve overseas Chinese

Aerial photo taken on July 10, 2021 shows a view of the historical and cultural block of Sanfangqixiang (Three Lanes and Seven Alleys) in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province.

Photo by Jiang Kehong, Xinhua

 It took Zheng, a Chinese national residing in Spain, just a few minutes to complete his Chinese driver's license renewal after calling a hotline in his hometown of Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province.

Though they are thousands of miles away from home, the city's overseas Chinese can still feel the warmth of their homeland, thanks to the hotline service developed specifically for the diaspora.

The city is committed to providing more efficient, high-quality and convenient services to overseas Chinese from Fuzhou through this hotline while cracking down on crimes and illegal activities involving this group, said Wang Xizhang, deputy mayor of Fuzhou and director of the city's public security bureau.

The overseas Chinese can dial 0086-591-110 to request assistance, and the receptionists will register and attend to their requests at the earliest possible time.

"We will immediately deal with the request if the issue is relevant to the city. If the events occur in other parts of the country, we will coordinate with our counterparts to address them," said Liu Rongyan, an official with the municipal public security bureau.

"Concerning events that take place overseas, we will guide those who dial the hotline to contact their local police and seek aid from local Chinese embassies and consulates or relevant departments of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Besides, we shall report to the higher public security organs when deemed necessary," Liu added.

Since the launch of the hotline service, the Fuzhou police had received calls from nearly 50 countries and regions including the United States, Spain, Argentina and Japan.

To offer more convenient services, the police also worked in cooperation with overseas organizations to set up the first batch of 30 service stations that currently cover 25 cities across 21 countries.

Fuzhou, located on China's east coast, is well-known for being the hometown of a large number of Chinese who live abroad. According to statistics, there are more than 4.3 million overseas Chinese from Fuzhou living all over the world.