On July 25, the Beijing Foreign Affairs Office held the 2nd Consular Protection Lecture in 2020. Zhao Zhijiang, former Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., served as the keynote speaker and discussed how to get consular protection and stay safe with six Beijing-born students studying abroad. More than 6,000 Chinese students and parents participated in the virtual event.

Tips for staying safe abroad 

Noting the ongoing epidemic and outstanding public security issues in North America, Mr. Zhao advised overseas Chinese students to fully understand the epidemic prevention and control policies of the country where they are living, avoid cultural collisions and conflicts, take precautions to maintain physical and mental health, and improve their self-help and mutual assistance skills. He reminded the students that if necessary, they can call the "12308" consular protection hotline or contact the Chinese embassy for help.

Tips for having a safe flight back home 

Currently, overseas Chinese nationals can take a chartered flight or a commercial flight back to the motherland. They can get information on chartered flights from the Chinese embassies and register as required, while arrangements for commercial flights are subject to the airlines. Mr. Zhao reminded the students to purchase tickets through reliable channels and stay calm and contact the police in case of frauds. He also suggested the students protect themselves on their journey no matter which kind of flights they take, and provide accurate and authentic information for the health QR code.

In addition, Mr. Zhao interpreted the entry policies of some important transit countries such as France, Spain, Ethiopia, and South Korea, reminding the students to learn about the entry policy of the transit country in advance to avoid the risk of being stranded or even deported because of policy changes.

Nucleic acid tests are required

According to the announcements issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the General Administration of Customs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all China-bound travelers, no matter their nationality, must undergo a COVID-19 nucleic acid test at an institution designated or recognized by the Chinese embassy in the country and show negative test results before getting on board. They can follow the official account and website of the Chinese embassy and consulate to get relevant information and take nucleic acid tests as required. 

Some representatives of overseas Chinese students also shared the problems they encountered. The lecture is informative and offers a lot of practical tips and guidelines, said the attendees, adding that it helped them enhance their risk awareness and emergency response skills and they will follow up on the future lectures.

Communication with representatives of overseas Chinese students

Six representatives of overseas Chinese students are among the third group of health promoters to share knowledge about epidemic prevention and control. They are:

Wang Zimo, studying in the U.S.

Wang Chen, studying in the U.S.

Han Ting, studying in the U.S.

Mi Lun, studying in the U.S.

Zhao Yuzhen, studying in the U.S.

Han Zesen, studying in Canada

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