Applications for the title of Honorary Citizen are open to overseas Chinese; compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan; and expatriates plus other out-of-towners who have made outstanding contributions to either the city's socioeconomic development or foreign exchange and cooperation.

New regulations -- Implementation Rules Regarding Zhuhai Special Economic Zone's Conferment of Honorary Citizen Title -- were approved at an executive meeting of the municipal government on Aug 8.

The rules constitute 11 articles covering conferment requirements, admissible departments, selection procedures, benefits, and revocations. They list 10 requirements to obtain the title and which departments are responsible for accreditation.

Candidates need to have invested more than 200 million yuan ($29 million) in local enterprises and complied with relevant tax requirements or donated over 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) to public welfare and charity causes.

Conferment of Honorary Citizen title further regularized [Photo by Zhong Fan / Zhuhai Daily]

In addition, those who have made great contributions to emergency response and disaster relief or played an important role in bringing in international and domestic high-caliber talents and innovative entrepreneurial teams may also qualify.

According to the new rules, citizens who contribute significantly to the construction of national projects are also eligible.

The candidates can either be recommended by themselves or state organs, enterprises, public institutions, non-Communist parties, mass organizations, or social groups.

The title, however, will be revoked if the individual provides false information in the declaration process, harms public interest, violates social ethics, or causes negative social impact.

The city issued the Method for Zhuhai's Conferment of Honorary Citizen Title in 1997. Since then, it has held nine selection sessions, which produced 122 titleholders. The selection will be held every three years in the future, with no more than 30 people recognized each time.