According to China Daily reports, a British tourist was suspected of sexually assaulting a Chinese woman on Xuanwumen Dajie in Beijing at about 11 pm on May 8. The man's actions were caught on video and then posted online. The video shows the woman crying out in distress and saying she doesn't know the foreign man. A few Chinese men came to the woman's aid after they heard her calls. They beat the British tourist, who was then lying in the middle of the road. Millions of people watched the video, and tens of thousands have expressed their outrage online.

一周后，北京警方展开了为期100天的专项行动，在外国人聚居的地点检查一些人的护照和居留证件。两个事件相隔如此之短，很难让人不把它们联系起来。

A week later, the Beijing police issued the 100-day campaign to check passports and accommodation registration in areas where foreigners gather in Beijing. The interval between the two events was so short that many couldn't help think one caused the other.

但是据中国日报报道，警察否认了这种说法，说这次清理行动仅仅是为了打击外国人非法工作、居留以及入境等问题。而且警察说，此事件中的英籍男子确有合法签证，但是，为什么要在现在清理呢？非法移民问题在中国究竟有多严重？让我们来看一些数据。

But China Daily reported that the police denied that idea and said the crackdown only aims at tackling the illegal employment of foreigners, overstaying and illegal entry. After all, the police said the suspected British man involved in the incident does have a valid visa. But why start the crackdown now? How serious is the problem of illegal immigrants in China? Let's look at some numbers.

据公安部统计，2011年，外国人入境中国共计5400多万人次。他们来到中国的目的各不相同，有旅游、会议商务、就业、学习以及探亲访友。据北京警方的数据，平均每天有20万外国人居住停留在北京。

According to the Ministry of Public Security, foreign visitors made about 54 million trips to the Chinese mainland in 2011. They came to China for various purposes like tourism, business and conference, employment, study and reuniting with friends and families. Beijing alone hosts an average of 200,000 foreigners per day. That's according to the city police.

2011年，外国人来华人数居前十位的国家是：韩国、日本、俄罗斯、美国、马来西亚、新加坡、越南、蒙古、菲律宾，以及加拿大。中国最近一次的人口普查显示，中国接收外国人最多的前十位地区是：广东、上海、北京、江苏、福建、云南、浙江、山东、辽宁以及广西壮族自治区。

The 10 countries that sent the most visitors to China in 2011 were: the Republic of Korea, Japan, Russia, the United States, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Mongolia, the Philippines and Canada. China's latest census shows the top 10 Chinese regions that receive most foreign residents are: Guangdong province, Shanghai municipality, Beijing municipality, Jiangsu province, Fujian province, Yunnan province, Zhejiang province, Shandong province, Liaoning province and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

1980年外国人入境74万人次，这个数字到2011年增长了近36倍达到2700多万人次。1980年，在华居住超过六个月的外国人有近2万人, 到2011年增长到60多万, 增长了大约30倍。这些常住居民主要为三资企业工作人员、留学生、教师、外企驻华机构代表及其亲属。截至2011年底，约有4700个外国人获得中国永久居住权。

About 740,000 foreigners entered China in 1980; the number grew 36 times that – to over 27 million – in 2011. In 1980, there were 20,000 foreigners that lived in China for more than six months. That number went up to 600,000 in 2011, representing a 30-time increase. These long-term residents were mainly employees of foreign-funded enterprises, students, teachers, and representatives of foreign companies as well as their relatives. As of the end of 2011, about 4,700 foreign residents held China's permanent residence.

1995年，中国警方查处了1万人次“三非”外国人，即非法居留、就业及入境的外国人，这个数字到2011年时翻了1倍。公安部统计，大部分签证过期后非法居留的外国人由于不了解中国法律而违法，而非法入境者大部分来自邻国，非法就业的主要集中在教学、演出和家政等领域。

Chinese police dealt with 10,000 foreigners living, working and travelling illegally in 1995. That number doubled in 2011.The ministry reported most illegal immigrants who outstayed their visas in China were not aware of China's law. Those who entered illegally mainly came from neighboring countries. And those who took jobs illegally were mainly working as teachers, performers or housekeepers.

当这些数据看似显示了中国逐渐成为一个热门的国际移民目的地，但是联合国人口司的数据则显示了一个更大的格局。

While these numbers seem to show China is getting more and more popular as a destination for international migration, the United Nations Population Division presents a bigger picture.