Ling*, 42, arrived in Germany with his 10-year-old daughter, Feifei*, in late 2024. Their journey from Jiangsu province in eastern China to the small town of Schöppenstedt, near Hanover, took over three months and cost thousands of pounds in payments to smugglers and plane tickets. Beginning in August, it culminated in a perilous winter trek across the Balkan mountains from Bosnia into the European Union, passing through Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, and finally reaching Germany. Ling is among the hundreds of Chinese individuals who sought asylum in Germany in 2024.
Following a recent election in which German voters strongly supported anti-immigrant policies, with the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) securing second place, a new group of immigrants is quietly hoping their aspirations for safety won’t be disrupted by the shifting political landscape in Europe. Immigration is described as “one of the most important topics in the German context,” according to Marcus Engler, a researcher at the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research, who notes that Chinese individuals are currently “absent from the debate.” Although their numbers are small, they are on the rise.
In 2024, Germany received 250,945 asylum applications, a decrease of about 30% from 2023. However, Chinese applications increased by over 70% during the same period, exceeding 1,000. Despite Germany’s reputation as a refuge for migrants, the likelihood of successfully obtaining asylum appears low for Chinese applicants. In 2024, nearly 50% of Chinese asylum seekers in Germany faced rejection, while only about 5% were rejected in France, a country known for its stricter policies.
These statistics highlight the challenges in addressing this new category of refugee—those escaping the stringent control of the Chinese Communist Party rather than fleeing war or instability. Many may question why someone from a relatively stable economy, with a GDP per capita close to the global average, would take such significant risks to start anew in a foreign land.
Ling began contemplating leaving China over 20 years ago, but it was the government’s severe Covid-19 lockdown measures that prompted him to take action. During the pandemic, he lost his job and saw his income drop to 3,000 yuan (£326) a month while working as a delivery driver. He became increasingly uneasy about Feifei’s education, particularly when she was required to wear the red neckerchief of the Young Pioneers, the Communist Party’s organization for children aged six to 14. He was disturbed when a teacher showed Feifei’s class videos depicting the US and Western nations as “bullying China.”
“Education should focus on teaching children to love those around them and society, rather than fostering hatred and distorting their minds,” he expressed.
