The policy of actively returning houses has only been going on for the past five years. Many overseas Chinese are scattered abroad, and have only heard about the program in a roundabout fashion before coming to investigate. Also, for example, in 1990 after the PRC established diplomatic relations with Indonesia, a large group of overseas Chinese from there came forward to apply.
積極退還僑房是近五年來的事，許多散居海外、早已和家鄉斷了音信的華僑，是陸陸續續、輾轉聽說而前來索討的；又譬如一九九○年中共和印尼復交後，連帶著才有一批印尼華人提出申請。