Fake IDs have been very helpful in giving defectors a way to earn money and travel. But now they are being taken away
By Lee Chae Un
February 20, 2024
Credits @FFHR.CZ
February 19, 2024
Chinese police have recently started tracking down North Korean defectors with fake IDs and confiscating their documents, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a Daily NK source in China said Thursday that “A,” a defector who has been living in Jilin Province for more than 10 years with a fake ID, was called in by police earlier this month and had her ID confiscated.
The police told “A” that the Chinese government had ordered them to confiscate the fake IDs of North Korean defectors and informed her that she could no longer use the ID from that moment on.
“Since last year, the Chinese police have been identifying which defectors have been living with fake IDs, and recently they have been calling these defectors and demanding their IDs,” the source said. “Defectors who have been living in China on fake IDs for over 10 years are suddenly having their IDs confiscated.”
Eventually, “A” turned in the fake ID she had been using to the police and became undocumented, just like any ordinary defector.
When she turned in her fake ID, the police also told her to “live quietly as we won’t arrest or repatriate you as long as you don’t commit any crimes or try to go to South Korea.”
Police also recently confiscated the fake ID of “B,” a defector living in Liaoning Province. She, too, had been using the ID for more than a decade.
“You wouldn’t dream of it now, but as recently as 10 years ago, if defectors had the money, they could buy fake IDs in China,” the source said. “With the ID you bought, you could get on a plane and go anywhere you wanted, so ‘B’ became desperate when she suddenly became undocumented, even though she wasn’t even thinking of going to South Korea.”
“B” expressed her frustration: “Because I had a fake ID, I could earn money and live without major problems, but now I’m a bird that has lost its wings. I can’t sleep, and am terrified at the thought I could be arrested and repatriated to the North at any time.”
Fake IDs have been very helpful in giving defectors in China some peace of mind. But now that even these are disappearing, many defectors are growing increasingly pessimistic about their undocumented status and inability to travel freely.
“Defectors in China are feeling increasingly insecure,” the source said. “The only way for them to live safely is to go to South Korea, but since even that option is now far too difficult, the psychological strain they are suffering is growing.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Source: dailynk.com
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