Migrant Smuggling Data and Research

2003; Li, 2012; Silverstone, 2011). Historically, the emergence of snakeheads
was tied to a “fever of going abroad” among many Chinese citizens who did
not have the means to do so legally (Liang, 2001). Accordingly, ordinary people
in the countryside often perceive snakeheads as good migration brokers who
help fellow villagers realize their dreams of upward mobility through illegal
migration (Chin, 2003; Li, 2012). Likewise, smugglers do not see themselves as
criminals. Rather, they expressed an altruistic motive in providing a valuable
service to the Chinese who want to emigrate but cannot do so legally (Li, 2012;
Silverstone, 2011). Herein, current literature demonstrates an engagement in
exploring the boundaries and intersections between the licit and illegal nature
of human smuggling in China: the latter is considered licit (that is, permissible)
by participants and the average people, but illegal in the formal sense at the
national level (Li, 2012).
The Chinese materials on migrant smuggling emphasize the negative
impact of migrant smuggling on China’s border security and social stability
(Zhizhong, 2006; Dan, 2004; Runlong, 2001; Dai, 2006; Zhongzhi, 2007; Zhongyi,
2013). A large portion of the literature seeks to offer feasible solutions to mitigate
the perceived threats caused by migrant smuggling (Lijun, 2013; Charles, 2008).
Cases include irregular migrants from North Korea, Myanmar and Thailand to
China (Chuanyu, 2012; Qi, 2011; Li, 2012; Xue, 2015) and ethnic Koreans from
China to South Korea (Xue, 2015). Migrant smuggling, or irregular migration
in general, from China to other countries has been identified as a “shameful”
phenomenon (Fei, 2005). This causes problems with data accessibility. The data
relies on the UNODC (Zhigang, 2014; Runlong, 2001). There is also the persistent
problem with the lack of clarity in terminology. For instance, toudu (stowaway),
yimin zousi (migrant smuggling) and renkou fanmai (human trafficking) are often
used interchangeably.
Most research on North Korean migrant smuggling is discussed in
the geopolitical contexts of refugees and trafficking in persons (Chan and
Schloenhardt, 2007; Davis, 2006; Kim, 2010; Lagon, 2008; Lee, 2004; Lee, 2001–
2002; Lohman, 1996; Margesson, Chanlett-Avery and Bruno, 2007). While Andrei
Lankov (2004, 2008) identifies geopolitical and security constraints of the North
Korean regime for the growing number of smuggling and unauthorized crossings
to China, Kyung-Ae Park (2010, 2013) adopts a more people-centred approach to
transnational organized crime and refugees, focusing on non-traditional security
issues in North Korea. There are numerous policy-oriented reports from nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) (Butler, 2009; Committee for Human Rights
in North Korea, 2009; Havel, Bondevik and Wiesel, 2008; Human Rights Watch,
2002, 2008; International Crisis Group, 2006; Muico, 2005). In addition to NGO
reports, a few scholars start investigating the roles of Christian missionaries in
Migrant Smuggling Data and Research:
A global review of the emerging evidence base
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