"No More Mr. Nice Guy," Say COMMIES To Visitors. "We Might Not Kill You -- But Watch Out!"
dillydally
By Ariana Eunjung Cha
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, July 19, 2008; A09
HONG KONG -- Brad Eddington arrived in Shanghai on a whim seven years
ago and fell in love with the place. He got a job teaching English to
kindergartners at a private school, an apartment in the trendy French
Concession district, and a girlfriend. And even though he was on a
visitor's visa he had to renew every year, he considered China his new
home.
That changed this month. After several frustrating weeks of trying to
negotiate China's new visa policies, getting exiled to Hong Kong and
failing to gain permission to reenter the mainland, Eddington gave up.
Thousands of other foreign residents are also finding China far less
hospitable than it once was because of visa restrictions tightened
ahead of the Olympics and reported increasing hostility toward
outsiders.
"I thought things would get easier the longer I stayed, but it's the
opposite," said Eddington, 36, an Australian. "China's a different
place than when I first came." The controversy over Tibet and the
Olympic torch relay "may have surfaced feelings that had long been
there" about foreigners.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has dismissed any suggestion that
China, which issued 8.13 million visas last year, has changed the way
it treats foreigners and said that it continues to welcome overseas
visitors.
Wei Wei, director general of the ministry's consular department, told
state-owned media last week that the visa policy aims to "keep
dangerous forces outside the country" during the Olympics and that the
new measures bring China in line with international standards.
"The new policy is not as strict as might be imagined," Wei said.
"Those who apply to come to China for justifiable reasons will be
given every convenience."
Some human rights advocates, business associations and foreign
visitors say the visa crackdown has more to do with keeping out
potential foreign protesters upset about China's control of Tibet,
investment in Sudan despite oppression in Darfur or other human rights
issues. They say the process is alienating foreigners. Whether this
reflects a temporary shift because of the Olympics or a more permanent
change has been much discussed by expatriates.
They are also spooked by several recent attacks on foreigners. The
harassment of a recent Boston College graduate in Hunan Province at a
protest against French hypermarket chain Carrefour in April has served
as a warning that the growing nationalist sentiment can turn ugly.
Although James Galvin, 22 and American, wasn't harmed, one youth
lunged at him while others shouted, "Kill him! Kill the Frenchman!"
In June, an Associated Press reporter and two photographers were
dragged from the scene of a protest by parents whose children had died
while at school during the Sichuan earthquake.
In an interview, a 24-year-old French student recounted how he was
attacked by three Chinese men on a Shanghai subway train one night
last week. He said one of the assailants told him: "This is my home.
You are not welcome here" and punched him until he fell.
On the one hand, the student said he was shocked and angry about the
attack, which left him with large, painful bruises near his ribs and
on his legs. On the other, he said the attack showcased the good side
of China as well as the bad. He said he was saved from serious harm by
several Chinese bystanders -- an elderly man and woman and some young
girls -- who moved to stop the attack and help him out of the station.
"There are bad people everywhere in every country. It's bad luck. I
was just at a wrong place in a wrong moment," he said. In China, "I
think the problem is that there are more and more foreigners. Some
people are interested in them. Some people are afraid."
The student said he still loves being in China and does not intend to
change his plans to get a job there and stay for four to five years.
For a generation of adventure-seekers who grew up in the '80s, China
has held great allure with its mix of traditional villages and
gleaming skyscrapers. China offered cheap rent and free-flowing
alcohol at its growing number of bars in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen
and other large cities. The foreigners -- business executives and
backpackers -- in turn helped open art galleries, restaurants and the
ubiquitous trading companies.
On paper, the visa rules for China have always been strict. But in
recent years, foreigners could turn to a thriving gray market for
their immigration documents. For a small fee, agencies would gather
all the paperwork required for coveted visas allowing visitors to
remain in the country for as long as a year.
That abruptly ended in April.
China all but stopped issuing multi-entry visas and began requiring
tourists to submit documentation such as hotel reservations, plane
tickets and other information. Police officials also began randomly
stopping foreigners in the street and questioning them about their
status in the country. Immigration officials increasingly made
unannounced visits to companies to check the paperwork of foreign
employees.
In past months, Hong Kong has become a way station for foreigners
stranded because they weren't able to get Chinese visas.
One freelance photographer from Detroit was studying in the southern
city of Shenzhen when he had to retreat to Hong Kong because he
couldn't get his visa renewed. Timothy O'Rourke said he had $1,000
tied up in a deposit on an apartment and six months left on his lease.
O'Rourke, 44, was in a panic until a friend suggested he consider
mailing his passport back to the United States. It worked. For $350, a
visa agency was able to get him a multi-entry visa.
Others haven't been so lucky.
The problem has at times been devastating for businesspeople who have
investments or clients in China.
Arif Nihat Kilic, 40, exports watches and medical devices from the
mainland to Turkey. He said he has been able to get a multi-entry visa
the past four years but was rejected this year. So every other week,
he goes to the visa office in Hong Kong to get another short-term
visa. Most of his buyers from Turkey have it worse, he said, and
haven't even been able to get a single tourist visa. He estimates that
orders are down 80 percent as a result.
"Many Chinese suppliers can no longer do business. They ask me,
'What's going on? Why aren't the customers coming?' " Kilic said.
Richard Vuylsteke, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in
Hong Kong, said his organization, which represents small- to mid-size
businesses, has received numerous complaints about delayed or rejected
visas.
"It's not that the border is closed, but it's more difficult to get in
frequently," he said. "It is making business more complicated and more
expensive, and just kind of counterproductive not just for foreign
business people who go in and out but also for their counterparts."
[Researchers Wu Meng and Crissie Ding in Shanghai contributed to this
report.]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/18/AR2008071803216.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
Kyle Schwitters
during the so-called Olympics. The Chinks have created a TENSE and
JITTERY environment that seems to be building toward a blowout.
Frank Arthur
are you contributing to the hatred by fueling your anger?
Or are you working towards peace and brotherhood as you claim
that you are a person of God or Allah?
"Kyle Schwitters" <slipu...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:905bd248-1849-42a2...@z72g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...