Information on whether the government has offered temporary furloughs to prisoners who can supply appropriate guarantors and whether these guarantors would be detained if the prisoners did not return could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Sources Consulted

Amnesty International. March 1997.

People's Republic of China: Law Reform and Human Rights.

Amnesty International Report 1997. 1997.

Asian Survey [Berkeley, Calif.]. Monthly. January-December 1997.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997. 30 January 1998.

Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1996. 1997.

Current History [Philadelphia]. Monthly. January 1997-March 1998.

Human Rights in Developing Countries Yearbook 1997. 1997.

Human Rights Watch World Report 1998. 1997.

ODR. Feuilles d'information sur les pays.

Research Directorate. December 1997.

Human Rights Information Package: China.

_____. June 1997. Contextual Information Package: China.

Resource Centre. "China" country file. July 1997-present.

_____. "China: Amnesty International" country file. July 1997-present.

Electronic sources: IRB Databases, LEXIS/NEXIS.

Oral sources:

One oral source could not provide information on the requested subject.

Unsuccessful attempts to contact five other oral sources.