China: Instances when the Fujian Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issues a Fujian certificate of vaccination to "black children" (children born outside the family planning policy) and whether the certificate would have a "Child No." written on it (2013-May 2014)
Information about whether the certificates would have a "Child No." written on them could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. Information about instances when the Fujian Center for Disease Control and Prevention issues certificates of vaccination to "black children" (children born outside the family planning policy) was scarce amongst the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an official at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing who spoke with the Fujian CDC, indicated that child vaccination is a "standard practice" in China, including Fujian (Canada 23 May 2014). According to an article published on the website of the government of Fujian, a vaccination campaign was launched in Fuzhou in April 2013, which focused on children of migrant workers, children born outside of family planning regulations, and those without a health card (Fujian 18 Apr. 2013a). Children who had not completed routine inoculations were reportedly to be issued a [translation] "card and certificate ... so as to be brought into the routine immunization system" (ibid.). An article on the Fujian CDC website indicated that this month-long vaccination campaign was approved by the provincial Health and Family Planning Commission and was [translation] "aimed province-wide" (ibid. 18 Apr. 2013b).
Information in the following section was provided by the Embassy of Canada in Beijing. The embassy official indicated that according to the Fujian CDC, vaccination certificates are issued to "every child with no exception" (Canada 23 May 2014). The same source indicated that parents do not need to present identification to the community hospital to obtain a vaccination certificate, but must provide their contact information and proof of a permanent address in the community (ibid. 26 May 2014). According to the embassy official who spoke with the Fujian CDC, newborn babies are vaccinated against Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and given their first immunization for Hepatitis B within three days of birth at a hospital (ibid.). The source explained that the hospital would then issue a "triplicate form"; the community hospital would register that vaccination information and all future vaccinations in the vaccination certificate (ibid.).
According to the information provided by the Fujian CDC to the embassy official, vaccination certificates are printed by the Fujian CDC (ibid. 23 May 2014) and distributed to "community level health service centres or township hospitals, which are responsible for vaccinating […] children" (ibid. 26 May 2014).
The embassy official indicated that, according to the Fujian CDC, information contained in the certificate includes information such as: the child's date of birth, child's name, child's delivery hospital name, parents' names, residential address, and contact information; additionally the booklet would contain the vaccine name, place/batch of vaccine production, date of vaccination, and signatures of the doctor and parent of the child (Canada 26 May 2014). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
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 for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Canada. 26 May 2014. Embassy of Canada in Beijing. Correspondence from an official to the Research Directorate.
Canada. 23 May 2014. Embassy of Canada in Beijing. Correspondence from an official to the Research Directorate.
Fujian. 18 April 2013a. "Fuzhou Launches National Immunization Program's 'Vaccination Catch-Up Month' Campaign." Translated by the Translation Bureau, Public Works and Government Services Canada.
Fujian. 18 April 2013b. Fujian Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "Our Province Now Organizing 'Vaccination Catch-Up Month' Campaign Under the Children's Immunization Program." Translated by the Translation Bureau, Public Works and Government Services Canada.
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: Attempts to contact the following organizations and individuals were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: China – Embassy of China in Ottawa, National Center for Disease Control, National Immunization Program; Fujian – Fujian Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Fujian Provincial Hospital; Legal consultant with Amnesty International; Médecins sans frontières; PATH China; United States – Centers for Disease Control, National Institutes for Health.
UNICEF-China; All Girls Allowed; the Asian Human Rights Commission; and the World Health Organization in China could not provide information for this Response.
Internet sites, including: Asian Human Rights Commission; Beijing Review; China – China Center for Disease Control, China Daily, Embassy of China in Ottawa, Ministry of Health and Family Planning, National Immunization Program, www.gov.cn; China Research Center; Chinese Human Rights Defenders; Ecoi.net; Factiva; Fujian – Fujian Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fujian Provincial Publicity Department; Fujian Medical University; Keesing Reference Systems; Médecins sans frontières; PATH.org; Physicians for Human Rights; South China Morning Post; United Nations – Integrated Regional Information Networks, UNICEF, Refworld; United States – Centers for Disease Control, Department of State, National Institutes of Health; World Health Organization; Xinhua News Agency.