ci On August 31, 2007, the plenary of the Inter-Ministry Joint Conference on the Work of Protecting the Safety of Overseas Chinese Citizens and Agencies was held in Beijing. State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan attended and addressed the plenary, at which Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, focal point of the inter-ministry joint conference, made a work report. The representatives of the member ministries, concerned provincial and municipal governments and central state-owned enterprises were present at the meeting.
This meeting is an important one for the implementation of the instruction and spirit of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on protecting the safety of overseas Chinese citizens and agencies. The meeting reviewed the work of the inter-ministry joint conference mechanism since its existence over two years ago, analysed the new situation, subjects and challenges for the protection work, and identified main tasks of strengthening the next-step protection work.
The meeting stressed that the CPC Central Committee and the State Council always attach great importance to the work of protecting the safety of overseas Chinese citizens and agencies. Under the current situation, we need to enhance the awareness on the importance of the protection work, strengthen the sense of responsibility and hardship, and have a sense of urgency in improving the work. The ministries and local agencies shall list the protection work on their agenda, improve the corresponding mechanisms, sum up experiences, search for vulnerabilities and weakness, take remedial measures timely and increase work efficiency and performance. We need to strengthen the analysis and prediction on the security situation abroad, improve the security risk evaluation mechanisms, and enhance the ability to prevent, predict and tackle emergencies. We need to strengthen capacity building, increase input, optimise and consolidate institutional and personnel set-up, and build up a strong protection system. We need to strengthen the publicity and education and help the Chinese enterprises overseas enhance the sense of responsibility, keep the overall situation in mind, improve their operational and managerial models and concepts, and upgrade their ability to prevent risks and protect themselves.
