■ A Huaxia Bank customer is waiting to handle overseas financial business. Reporter Liu Wenjing photo

　　Nowadays, studying abroad is becoming the choice of more and more families in China. According to the data released by the Ministry of Education, the total number of students studying abroad in China in 2018 was 662,100, of whom 596,300 were studying at their own expense, and the "study abroad craze" is spreading from first-tier cities to second-and third-tier cities.

　　During the summer vacation, many families in the provincial capital who are interested in going abroad are busy looking for intermediaries and contacting banks to pave the way for their children to study abroad. The "overseas finance" business of banks in provincial capitals has also ushered in growth. In order to get more cakes and win high-quality customers, banks have launched "one-stop service", various value-added services and public welfare activities to make it more convenient and practical for families studying abroad to get money.

　　"study abroad margin loan" is increasingly favored.

　　Ms. Wu, who works in an institution in the provincial capital, is busy with her daughter’s study abroad recently. My daughter is a senior three this year. Ms. Wu has contacted an American university. In her plan, her daughter does not have to take the national college entrance examination and goes directly to the United States to study at a university. During the formalities, she was told that she needed to open a deposit certificate of 500,000 yuan, but Ms. Wu’s family just bought a new house, and she really didn’t have 500,000 yuan at the moment. Do you still have to borrow money from relatives and friends? Just when she was in a dilemma, a friend told her that many banks now have "study abroad deposit loans", and they can issue deposit certificates after lending first.

　　Ms. Wu contacted the account manager of a bank and quickly issued a deposit certificate of 500,000 yuan. "Now the financial products are really amazing! I saved 15,000 yuan, pledged 500,000 yuan with the certificate of deposit, and then turned the 500,000 yuan into a large deposit certificate, so I can open a deposit certificate and finish it in one day. " Ms. Wu told the reporter happily that in the "study abroad deposit loan", the cost she had to bear was the spread between the loan interest rate and the deposit interest rate. She borrowed for six months and paid interest of 1,500 yuan per month, which was completely affordable, so she didn’t have to borrow money from her friends.

　　It is understood that the "guarantee loan for studying abroad" handled by Ms. Wu has almost become the main product of "going abroad for finance" of various banks, that is, first making loans, then making deposits, and then issuing deposit certificates, which is very suitable for families studying abroad. The reporter learned from Bank of China, Bank of Beijing, China Merchants Bank and Huaxia Bank that the "study abroad margin loan" business of these banks has been growing steadily in recent years.

　　Zhao Xuyang, from the Overseas Financial Center of Bank of Beijing Shijiazhuang Branch, said that it is necessary to open an asset certificate or a deposit certificate to study abroad. Although most families studying abroad are relatively rich in assets, with the enhancement of investment and financial management awareness, more families will invest their money instead of depositing it as a time deposit. Therefore, the "study abroad deposit loan" used to open a deposit certificate just solves this problem. For banks, this kind of loan has relatively low risk and belongs to high-quality business.

　　Zhang Bo, who is in charge of overseas financial business of Huaxia Bank Shijiazhuang Branch, also said that the bank has handled hundreds of "guarantee loans for studying abroad" in the past three years. Because of its low cost and high efficiency, it can be done in one day, which is very popular among families of international students.

　　A number of banks have launched "one-stop service"

　　In addition to the widely recognized "study abroad margin loan", banks have also developed a variety of overseas financial products, covering almost the whole chain of studying abroad. "One-stop service" has increasingly become the main card of banks’ overseas financial business.

　　In the brochure of China Merchants Bank Shijiazhuang Branch, from the initial selection of schools and visa application to various procedures, to remittance transfer and credit card processing after going abroad, the bank’s business goes with it everywhere. There is an "intelligent study abroad consultant" on the mobile banking client of China Merchants Bank. Click in and enter your own relevant information, and the system will automatically recommend schools, jump out of the profile of the recommended schools, and the growth of tuition fees in recent years. At the same time, it will also recommend children’s education fund planning and smart study abroad planning. During the formalities of studying abroad, the bank can print the transaction flow and deposit certificate. In the later period of studying abroad, there is also a credit card specially for international students, which is convenient for paying tuition and living expenses abroad, and the whole chain service.

　　In the overseas financial business of the Agricultural Bank of China, it also includes foreign currency financing, cross-border wire transfer, making an appointment to open an overseas bank account and other services, all of which have preferential treatment and reduction of handling fees.

　　According to the reporter’s investigation, at present, the study agent and the bank have jointly completed the complete chain of studying abroad. Intermediaries are responsible for handling visas, language training, applying for colleges and universities, submitting various materials, etc. Banks are responsible for printing running water, issuing deposit certificates, handling credit cards, overseas remittances, foreign currency financing, etc. In the continuous cooperation and running-in between the two sides, the "one-stop service" of banks is becoming more and more close to the people and practical.

　　Public welfare activities attract families studying abroad.

　　A few days ago, Bank of Beijing Shijiazhuang Branch just finished a "Jingying Practice Camp" for teenagers who plan to study abroad, which is the second phase of this summer. Each activity provides 10 places. The bank specially invites teachers to train relevant financial knowledge, and there will be practical operation. After the event, an "internship certificate" will be opened. The account manager said that such practical activities are purely public welfare, that is, value-added services for customers who intend to go abroad, and the internship certificates are also very useful. Many foreign schools pay great attention to students’ social practice.

　　Huaxia Bank and China Merchants Bank are holding public welfare activities like this. The practical activities of Huaxia Bank Shijiazhuang Branch have 30 people in each period, mainly to let these children learn financial knowledge and language, talk about currency, exchange rate, etc., and train them for 5-7 days, and also to provide practical certificates for these children. Every year, China Merchants Bank holds a "China Teenager Who Changed the World" activity, and accepts applications nationwide. After several rounds of competitions, 30 outstanding students are selected to participate in free high-end study tours. According to Yu Xue of China Merchants Bank Shijiazhuang Branch, this activity has been held for two times, providing a platform for excellent children to communicate. The year before last, students from Shijiazhuang won the qualification of free study tour through competitions. This year is the third session, and the registration process will be started soon.

　　In order to attract families studying abroad, the bank has launched various public welfare activities, including salons and lectures for families studying abroad and various competitions for teenagers studying abroad. China Merchants Bank also publishes a white paper on studying in the United States/Britain/Australia every year, collecting and sorting out the information of various schools from a third-party perspective to provide reference for families studying abroad.

　　Sword refers to "going abroad finance" intended for high-end customers.

　　According to the reporter’s investigation, a number of banks in the provincial capital have recently set up "overseas financial centers" and "overseas financial departments" in the past two years to separate overseas financial business from retail business and become bigger and stronger professionally.

　　Why do banks attach so much importance to "going abroad finance"? The target is still a potential high-end customer. "Going abroad for finance is a big cake. Now banks are focusing on the overseas students, mainly to develop some potential high-end customers." An industry insider said that after all, most international students come from middle-and high-income families with certain economic strength. For this part of potential high-end customers, banks are willing to launch various value-added services at a lower cost.

　　"Families studying abroad belong to our high-quality customers. First of all, in terms of assets, families who can send their children to study abroad must have certain assets; Secondly, such families also pay more attention to credit reporting. " Xiao Zhang, the account manager of the overseas finance department of a bank, said that she has accumulated many such high-quality customers by doing overseas finance business. As long as the service is recognized by customers, she can recommend bank wealth management products and high-end credit cards later, which will promote various businesses of the bank.

　　Families studying abroad can try "mix and match"

　　According to incomplete statistics, in addition to state-owned banks such as industry, agriculture, China, construction and communications, commercial banks such as China Merchants Bank, Industrial Bank, Bank of Beijing, Huaxia Bank, China CITIC Bank, Minsheng Bank, China Everbright Bank and Ping An Bank have launched services and products focusing on overseas finance, and are vigorously expanding such businesses.

　　Then, how should families studying abroad choose the products and services of overseas finance? The account manager of a bank put forward the suggestion of "mashup". She said that although a number of banks have launched "one-stop" overseas financial services, each bank has its own characteristics and advantages. Some banks have lower cost and faster processing of "study abroad margin loans", some banks have more credit card functions for studying abroad, and some banks have more reductions and exemptions in remittance fees. Families studying abroad can learn more about the advantages and characteristics of various banks’ overseas financial services, and then combine their advantages among different bank products and freely "mix and match".

　　However, people in the industry also pointed out that the product "mix and match" should not span too many banks, only two or three companies can match, which can facilitate the cooperation and continuation between different businesses. (Reporter Liu Wenjing)

　　After boarding the video program, Yu Yang received a lot of abuse. He said that he had been psychologically prepared. "I don’t want to complain, complaining is useless, just want to remind others with my story."

　　On November 9, Yu Yang was interviewed by a network program. Facing the camera, he threw out a question: "How high is the crime cost now?" — — It is only the most basic thing to fail to pass the exam, and the restriction of job opportunities is the most direct and obvious price.

　　With Yu Yang’s experience, because he was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment nine years ago for a misdemeanor, he couldn’t engage in regular work such as take-away, express delivery, security, etc., and he couldn’t do heavy work on the construction site with diabetes, so he could only rely on some positions that managed to loosen up and set up stalls to sell cotton socks. Even so, compared with other people in the same position, Yu Yang earned a lower income. His colleagues got eight or nine thousand yuan a month, and he was only around 4 thousand yuan. "Do you think I can feel uncomfortable?"

　　Xiao Shengfang, deputy to the 13th National People’s Congress and president of Guangdong Lawyers Association, has long noticed this problem. In 2021 and 2022, he submitted the "Proposal on Adding the System of Eliminating Offenders before Minor Offences in China’s Criminal Law" twice. Xiao Shengfang pointed out that according to the Supreme People’s Court’s work reports over the years, the average number of criminals sentenced to punishment in the Supreme People’s Court in the past five years is as high as 1.2 million. If such a large number of people cannot integrate into society normally, "this will undoubtedly hinder the construction of a harmonious society in China".

　　very poor

　　"Being fired more than a dozen times a year"

　　How difficult is it for ex-cons to find jobs? Yu Yang cited his own experience in the past year as an example. August 2 this year: He went to Beijing to interview for a job on a shopping platform, and was rejected because of his criminal record; On September 1, he went to a food factory to work as an hourly worker. After a day’s work, he was dismissed by the leader. The daily salary of 160 yuan was normal, and Yu Yang only received 100 yuan.

　　Being fired and rejected, Yu Yang said that he was used to it. "I was fired more than a dozen times a year." In his view, the public generally has limited awareness of the possible impact of criminal records. In fact, most ordinary jobs do not accept people with criminal records, except for security guards, teachers and civil servants, who have clearly stipulated that former criminals are not allowed to engage in them. "As long as enterprises do the opposite, they will be able to find out."

　　As a senior "North drift", Yu Yang is familiar with the job market in Beijing. After graduating from junior high school in 2007, he went to work in Beijing from his hometown in the northeast. At that time, there were many opportunities, such as security guards at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital. "In 2012, there were 3,000 yuan a month and food subsidies."

　　But after the criminal record, everything changed. In the first two years after he was released from prison, although the basic salary was not high, Yu Yang could still find a way to make money. At that time, take-out and delivery in the same city were growing rapidly. Until around 2017, these industries began to tighten the employment standards, and "no criminal record certificate" became a hurdle in front of him.

　　In 2019, when he returned to Beijing to work again, Yu Yang heard that the security salary of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital rose to 4,000 yuan, and the monthly meal supplement also rose to 800 yuan. However, this job has nothing to do with him. He can only choose individual security posts with loose management, with a monthly salary of 2,500 yuan and daily meal supplement for 8 yuan.

　　Yu Yang has made a lot of efforts in recent years. He has been to Hainan, Shandong, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Shanghai, and found that no matter where he is, the requirements for "proof of no criminal record" are equally strict. He tried to work as a group performer on the construction site, but because of diabetes, he couldn’t do the heavy work on the construction site. When working as a group performer, he could only be engaged in the lowest level, and the crew with a better treatment required an actor’s license, while obtaining an actor’s license required proof of no criminal record.

　　There are still two roads before Yu Yang. Do some small business by yourself or find a self-employed boss to do odd jobs. The former road, tried by Yu Yang, failed, and lost tens of thousands of venture capital. The latter road, which Yu Yang groped for for a long time, finally ushered in a turning point recently — — A self-employed boss is willing to give him the opportunity to make Yu Yang have a stable income for the time being.

　　commit a crime

　　Life-changing 100 yuan

　　Yu Yang is not shy about his own criminal facts. That was in 2014, Yu Yang and a friend organized more than a dozen people to donate blood, and extracted the introduction fee from the nutritional subsidy for blood donation.

　　The Beijing News once reported this case. In June 2014, after Yu Yang lost his job, he learned that a community was going to organize voluntary blood donation, so he discussed with the "community manager" that he would organize people who wanted to donate blood and the other party would give him subsidies. After that, Yu Yang began to look for blood donors and discussed with friends how to get the money back and how to divide the accounts — — For this blood donation, the subsidy is 500 yuan for each blood donor. After blood donation, Yu Yang takes 50 yuan, and the rest is drawn by the introducer. In the end, it is only two or three hundred yuan in the hands of the blood donors. The public prosecution agency believes that the criminal responsibility of Yu Yang and others should be investigated for the crime of illegal organization selling blood.

　　Yu Yang told reporters that at that time, he didn’t realize that his behavior violated the law. "He earned 50 yuan for one person, a total of 100 yuan." In his view, he donated blood through formal communities and blood collection institutions. Until he went to court, Yu Yang realized that the problem lay in the extraction of referral fees. "I didn’t know at the time. I have committed a crime and I believe that I should bear the consequences. "

　　However, he did not expect that the 10-month fixed-term imprisonment was only the beginning of "atonement". After the end of the sentence, the influence brought by the criminal record gradually appeared, and Yu Yang lost many normal employment opportunities.

　　After being interviewed by online programs, Yu Yang received many messages. Some netizens said that they have no criminal record and can only earn about 3,500 yuan a month, refuting Yu Yang’s "affectation". Yu Yang tried to respond to these remarks one by one: "Their 3,500 yuan is in their hometown or third-and fourth-tier cities, and they still have the opportunity to earn 6,000 yuan, 7,000 yuan and 8,000 yuan, but 3,500 yuan is the upper limit that I can only reach no matter how hard I work in Beijing. This is the difference."

　　caution

　　With the cost of a lifetime

　　On the program, Yu Yang didn’t cover up or deal with his appearance and voice, and faced the camera directly. Yu Yang told reporters that in fact, the program group has repeatedly suggested to him that it is best to code, etc., but he refused. "Just ask for a truth and scold me."

　　In the program, Yu Yang focused on the cost of crime. He said that he hoped to warn more people through his own story and not to violate the legal red line.

　　As a former criminal, he understands the "prejudice" of the public and employers. "Will you let a criminal send you a takeaway or express delivery? Do you feel safe when the security guard at your gate has a criminal record? " But on the other hand, he hopes that society can give those ex-prisoners who want to turn over a new leaf a chance.

　　Yu Yang’s experience is not an isolated case. In July, 2022, the Supreme People’s Court disclosed a set of data: from 2013 to 2022, serious violent crimes such as homicide, kidnapping and robbery dropped by more than 30% nationwide. In 2021, nearly 85% of the criminal cases sentenced by the courts were light sentences of less than three years. Some media interpret this set of data as the coming of "misdemeanor era" in China.

　　In this regard, Xiao Shengfang, deputy to the 13th National People’s Congress and president of Guangdong Lawyers Association, pointed out that there are a huge number of people with criminal records in China today, but most of them are negligent crimes or minor economic crimes. These petty criminals are not harmful to society, but they will be branded as "criminals" after returning to society, and "criminal record will accompany them for life."

　　expert

　　Call for the construction of the system of eliminating misdemeanor criminal record

　　Xiao Shengfang said that when the current Criminal Law was passed in 1979, it was a "felony". However, with the continuous increase of criminal law amendments, the scope of cracking down on misdemeanors has been expanding, and new crimes have been added to criminal law provisions.

　　In his view, once a citizen has a criminal record, whether it is a felony or a misdemeanor, the label of having committed a crime will accompany the offender for life, which will have a great impact on his future job search, career and even family life.

　　Xiao Shengfang has received many people who have difficulties in survival related to criminal record for help. For example, a person from a city in Hebei said that he was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment and suspended for two years. After returning to society, he was repeatedly rejected in the job search process and his life was embarrassed.

　　Another mass wrote to Xiao Shengfang for help, saying that she had been sentenced to one year’s imprisonment for harboring prostitution. When she returned to her hometown after serving her sentence, she was waiting for her with the cold eyes of her parents, and even her children’s future entry, study and employment were affected by her criminal record. Xiao Shengfang told reporters that every time he reads these letters, he feels heavy.

　　Xiao Shengfang pointed out that according to the Supreme People’s Court’s work reports over the years, the average number of criminals sentenced to punishment in the Supreme People’s Court in the past five years was as high as 1.2 million. He believes that such a large number of people can not integrate into society normally, "which will undoubtedly hinder the construction of a harmonious society in China."

　　In order to solve this problem, Xiao Shengfang, as the representative of the 13th National People’s Congress, twice submitted the "Proposal on Adding the System of Eliminating Offenders before Minor Offences in China’s Criminal Law". In his view, the criminal record elimination system is conducive to crime prevention. "If the criminal record of misdemeanor crimes can be eliminated, it means that these people will not be isolated and abandoned by society after returning to society. This kind of people will regard the elimination of criminal record as an opportunity for society to turn over a new leaf, and most people will give back to society with gratitude, which is very beneficial to social development and stability. "

　　The reporter noticed that on August 25th this year, the People’s Court Newspaper hosted by the Supreme People’s Court published an article "Crime Management and Its System Supply in the Age of Minor Offences", discussing how to construct the system of eliminating minor offenses. In the article, some concrete contents about the construction of the system are put forward, including making it clear that it is applicable to minor criminals under three years, but maintaining "zero tolerance" for sexual crimes, terrorist crimes, organized crimes of underworld nature and so on.

　　Finally, Xiao Shengfang appealed that due to the huge number of petty criminals, the construction of relevant systems for this group of people should be paid attention to by all parties and promoted as soon as possible. Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star Journalist Zhou Weihao