Requirements for diplomatic and consular officials to meet and communicate with criminals with the nationality of their country severing jail in China

According to the Regulation on the Meeting and Communications for Foreign Criminals issued by Ministry of Justice, to deal with diplomatic and consular officials meeting and communicating with criminals with the nationality of their country, the following principles shall be followed: where a consular treaty has been formed with China, it shall follow the provisions of the treaty and with this Regulation together; where there is no a consular treaty with China but the country has joined the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, it shall follow the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and with this Regulation together; where there is no a consular treaty with China and the country has not joined the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, but has diplomatic relations with China, it shall according to the principle of reciprocity, follow this Regulation and with reference to international practices.

Where the diplomatic and consular officials ask to meet with citizens of the nationality of their country serving sentences in jail, the diplomatic and consular officials shall submit a written application to the prison administration of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government. The application shall state the following items: the name of the embassy or consulate, the number of people to participate in the meeting and their names and positions, the identity number and names of people to participate in the meeting, the name, crime, sentences and the place severing the sentences of the person requested to be met, the date of the meeting applied for, and the language of the meeting.

After the prison administration of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government received the written application with the request for meeting from the diplomatic and consular officials, it shall, within five working days, make a decision on approving or disapproving the meeting and reply in writing. If the meeting is approved, it shall confirm the following things in the reply: the date of receiving the application, the name of the person requested to be met, the number of people and their names to participate in the meeting, the time and place of the meeting, and the certificates they shall bring.

The meeting will be generally arranged in the meeting room of the prison. They may either use their own language or the Chinese language. If the two sides of the meeting need to pass letters or things to each other, they shall report to the prison in advance, and submit them for examination in accordance with regulations, and the letters or things can only be given to the person being met or the people requesting for a meeting after approval.