CRI听力:Foreign Ministry Opens Hotline to Help Chinese abroad

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi dialed the 12308 hotline at the call center. [Photo: Baidu.com]

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has opened a 24-hour hotline with worldwide access to help Chinese citizens in difficulties abroad.

CRI's Luo Wen has more.

Foreign Ministry Opens Hotline to Help Chinese abroad  
 
The hotline is the first unified system aimed at helping Chinese citizens abroad.

Chinese citizens who face difficulties and emergencies in foreign countries can seek consular protection and assistance from their home country via the hotline.

They can access operator service by dialing 0086+10+12308.

At the hotline's opening ceremony, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi dialed the number.

He says the opening of the center marks a milestone in improving the level of consular protection and service.

"The Foreign ministry has been working on the emergency call center for years, aiming to provide overseas Chinese with a channel to enjoy consular protection. In doing this, overseas Chinese can contact their motherland when they are in trouble, and get support and protection from related departments. We'll get to know the needs of overseas Chinese through this call center and offer our help."

Huang Ping, director of the Ministry's department of consular affairs, says a total of 20 back up lines are available to ensure smooth connection.

"When the hotline is busy, there are 20 more backup lines. And we'll add more emergency lines when severe accidents happen overseas. So the hotline-12308 is a trustworthy channel to seek help when you are in emergency in foreign countries."

Apart from the help hotline, the call center will further coordinate the consular service website and enhance the Foreign Ministry's official Wechat account, so as to provide better and more comprehensive services to Chinese citizens abroad.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.