国务院关于贯彻保护侨汇政策的命令
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（Promulgated on February 23， 1955） Overseas remittances are incomes of overseas Chinese earned from labour and other professional operations， and are used for supporting their relatives residing in China； overseas remittances， one of the legitimate rights and interests of overseas Chinese and their relatives， are closely connected with the personal interests of overseas Chinese， and are the financial sources that the broad masses of the relatives of overseas Chinese rely on for their livelihood. Moreover， overseas remittances play a positive role in the building of the country， and are in the interest of the people of the whole country. Especially in places where relatives of overseas Chinese are concentrated， overseas remittances have played mark able role in promoting economic prosperity in their local areas and in developing cultural and public welfare undertakings. Such being the case， cadres at various levels， especially cadres at the county， district， and township levels， should foster a profound understanding of the important role played by overseas remittances， and pay due attention to them accordingly. In the past five years， the State has consistently and resolutely protected overseas remittances and carried out the policy of “facilitating the handling of overseas remittances and serving the compatriots residing abroad”。 In order to show consideration for the interests of our compatriots residing abroad and for the relatives of overseas Chinese， the State has set reasonable foreign exchange quotations. In the early years after Liberation， in order to protect the relatives of overseas Chinese from the impact of fluctuations of commodity prices， the State formulated procedures for making remittances and deposits in the original foreign currencies. And， after the currency system of our country became stable and the currencies of some countries were devaluated， the State again formulated measures for making remittances in Renminbi （RMB）， so as to protect the interests of our compatriots residing abroad and of the relatives of overseas Chinese. However， cases have been discovered that grass-roots administrative departments in some areas have failed to implement thoroughly the State policy for protecting overseas remittances； local cadres in some areas inhabited by relatives of overseas Chinese have failed to gain a good understanding of the significance of overseas remittances and of the State policy for protecting overseas remittances； and in some areas inhabited by relatives of overseas Chinese， cases even exist that the use of overseas remittances by the relatives has been meddled with to varying extents. In order to protect the interests of our compatriots residing abroad and of the relatives of overseas Chinese， in accordance with the provisions in Article 11 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China： “The State protects citizens' proprietary rights of their lawful incomes， deposits， houses， and various means of livelihood，” the Decree to implement the policy of protecting overseas remittances is hereby issued： 1. Overseas remittances are the lawful incomes of the relatives of overseas Chinese； the policy for protecting overseas remittances is a State policy not only for the present， but also for a long period to come. 2. When soliciting the relatives of overseas Chinese for joining various types of cooperatives， for patriotic deposits， or for buying government bonds， it is imperative that all be done on a completely voluntary basis. No individual or organization shall be permitted to borrow money from the relatives of overseas Chinese by coercion， and nor shall they be permitted to withhold overseas remittances， or to embezzle， under any pretext， overseas remittances. Any case of embezzlement of overseas remittances shall be dealt with in light of the seriousness of the case； those lawless persons who have misappropriated， embezzled， falsely claimed， or stolen overseas remittances must be punished according to law. 3. Relatives of overseas Chinese shall have the freedom to spend their overseas remittances and no person shall be permitted to meddle with relatives of overseas Chinese in their spending overseas remittances on their private life， including wedding ceremony， funeral ceremony， and other jubilant celebrations. 4. The State encourages overseas Chinese and their relatives to invest their overseas remittances in production， or to buy shares from State investment companies； the State also encourages overseas Chinese and their relatives to build houses， for which the local state administrative organs at various levels shall provide facilities. Overseas Chinese have consistently shown enthusiasm in supporting the public welfare undertakings in their native places， such as building schools and hospitals， water conservancy projects， bridges and roads， etc. The local state administrative organs at various levels should show concern for all these undertakings， and give them guidance and assistance； and when it is necessary， give them commendations |
