Forty Chinese nationals involved in illegal immigration were repatriated from Thailand on Thursday as a result of bilateral cooperation to crack down on human smuggling, the Ministry of Public Security said.

Deluded by criminal organizations, these people left China illegally before being stranded in Thailand, a ministry official said.

The illegal immigrants, as well as their family members, "have suffered greatly", the official said, adding that their family members have repeatedly requested that the Chinese government bring them back home.

The repatriation was conducted according to the domestic laws of both countries and international law, and was in line with common practice, the official said, adding that the lawful rights of the people were fully protected during the repatriation.

In addition, China will make all-out efforts to treat one of the repatriated individuals who became seriously ill while detained in Thailand, according to the official.

"The fact that these people were brought back to China to live a normal life after longtime detention overseas demonstrates the consistent position and firm determination of the Chinese government to respect and protect human rights," the official said.

China and Thailand have carried out cooperation to fight human smuggling according to law, and have gained rich outcomes in their cooperation to tackle telecommunications and cyberspace fraud, the official said, adding that the two countries will expand law enforcement cooperation to other fields to jointly safeguard regional security.

The Chinese government firmly opposes human smuggling in any form, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said later on Thursday, commenting on the repatriation.

Noting that illegal immigration and human smuggling are internationally recognized offenses, Lin said the Chinese government will continue to crack down on the offenses and hold planners and organizers of such activities accountable.

It will also actively participate in global security governance and strengthen law enforcement cooperation with relevant countries to jointly address the challenge posed by cross-border crimes, Lin said.

wangqingyun@chinadaily.com.cn

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