Xu Yousheng, deputy director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office (OCAO) under the State Council, said in an event in Hongzhou that the population of overseas Chinese exceeds 45 million, topping the world’s nations. “Among the 45 million people, many are newly emigrated and mainly located in Europe.”
OCAO is the agency channeling communication between overseas Chinese, whether naturalized or not, and the Beijing regime.
Source: China News Service, June 16, 2010
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/hr/hr-ggqq/news/2010/06-16/2345998.shtml