not any "chinese visa news" - why nothing from our HK SAR Government ?
Please read this from the poll comments "Nextstopvietnam":
quote
People, this visa situation has lasted long enough to make it clear that there is not about the Olympics. I could not understand how the Chinese government could act in such a way as it was so business unfriendly. After 12 years my experience of Chinese government officials (in whatever jurisdiction) was that unless there is bribery involved, they make economically very sound decisions. Fear of the Tibet situation or Olympic protests did not seem enough to suddenly stop issuing visas to legitimate business people. Then I read the SCMP article about the 10,000 Africans that had been reduced to 5,000 because of the new rules. The light bulb flashed in my head and I started to see what was really going on. Last year I passed through Guangzhou with a supplier. It was my first time driving through the city in around 3 years. We drove down a street at full speed for 3 or 4 mins and almost everyone on the street was African. I was astounded because in my experience the Chinese are so utterly racist against black people I could not see how they would let so many emigrants settle in one city. At this point the real story started to come to light. The government wants to make all the foreign business people currently working on multiple entry visas to become legitimate. It was far too easy to get come and work in China without paying tax or being legally documented. It is not just English teachers. A very large portion of small foreign companies used to have most of their western staff on multiple entry visas. They would go on abroad for meetings very regularly and stay away for long periods of time so it did not seem as if they were working in China. My multiple entry was reduced from 12 months, to 6 months, to 3 months and then to 2 entry. So this is no sudden policy. It was planned a long time ago and perhaps the Tibet situation finally pushed the officials to action. Kill 2 birds with one stone. Although it personally effects me quite a lot, I understand and accept that the government needs to control its borders. I am a guest in China so I respect their right to do what they want. They have implemented the rules in a very stupid and dishonest way, but as someone pointed out, if more Chinese people in general acted in an open and honest way, I would not have a job. My selling point is that I am easier to deal with. Once I reframed the situation in this light, it was easy to accept. I am still setting up an office in Vietnam, though. It seems as if the government has become business hostile over the last year. I need a plan B in case they suddenly implement more crazy rules. Next year, as the US economy accelerates into DEPRESSION, China will begin to feel the pain and perhaps we will see a change in the government's mood. In the meantime, I will be enjoying the much cheaper labour, great food and better environment of Saigon, rather than traveling for the same amount of time and cost to get to some toxic industrial wasteland in the middle of China. China is best for certain kinds of products, but Vietnam is just as good when you need quality and attention to detail in labour intensive products. Don't expect the visa situation to change in October. This is about illegal emigration and taxation, not about national security.
unquote
I do not want to comment this in details, but unfortunately I need to agree 99% to this - besides this I want to highlight once again that this visa policy is a massive loss of face to us (YES we gweilo / laowai also have FACE) - it is ridiculous enough to explain to our suppliers that we cannot come because we do not get the correct visa we need, because it seems we are considered a "threat to the chinese environment" !
We all can understand that China needs to protect its law, here esp in case of tax issues and illegal business activities.
But this visa policy is like a STEAMHAMMER - it "hammers down to many of honest + legal people" !
Clear: There are many people who are doing some illegal (no tax etc) business in China - but wait:
Is the central government not able to sort out who is doing RIGHT and who is doing WRONG ?
Please dont tell me now about how big China is and how many people live there ...................... !
Please enjoy IGGY POP + CHINA GIRL in Paris 1991 live.
At 2.23 he is SPITTING (dont do this at home or on the street) - hey IGGY this is HKD 1,500 here and not very nice. What is the penalty in RMB in China for spitting ?
2 comments:
I don't see why so many people are predicting that the current policy is permanent and will not end after the Olympics. Official sources have indicated that the policy is Olympics-related and temporary. See, for example, the following article in China Daily:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-05/07/content_6665678.htm
If the goal was to prevent unofficial employment of foreigners in China, the government could have used more targeted measures, such as strictly limiting F visas to 30 days per stay and 180 days per year.
I would be very surprised if October does not bring substantial loosing of multiple-entry visa policy, although we may not go all the way back to the old policy.
Yes. In the past 5 years, the number of Africans all over China has grown exponentially. This is certainly a big factor in this new policy.
Also, they are probably trying to limit the number of possible Tibet protesters in the country when the Olympics starts. But, stopping business people does not really address this problem.
For those business people who control the large amounts of capital that are building China, it puts an ugly face on the Chinese government once again. I looks as though the Chinese government is biting the hand that feeds it.
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