CHINA DAILY TELLS US EVERYTHING IS NORMAL AS EXPECTED - YES MOST OF THE MISSING TOURISTS WILL ARRIVE EXACTLY ON 08.08.08 at - okay a few minutes before 8.08 PM - but maybe they can't because the "airtraffic" will be already completely blocked - be assured for almost the whole day. Here the "Words Of Wisdom" for today"
quote
"Though more than half the rooms in four-star hotels are still available, the numbers were in line with expectations, said Xiong.
"This is what we expected," she said. "There are still quite a lot of people from other cities and provinces who have tickets but have not yet booked rooms. When August comes, the occupancy rate will be much higher than the present booking rate."
But there have been rumors linking the Chinese government's new visa controls to low hotel reservations. Sun Weide, a spokesman for the Beijing Olympic organizers, denied that the new visa regulations were responsible for low hotel bookings.
"The visa policy is very clear -- it's to guarantee the security of competitors over the Olympics period ... We will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure a peaceful Games," Sun said.
"We welcome foreign friends from all over the world to come to Beijing to compete in and watch the Games, and continue to take measures to provide convenience in applying for visas," he added."
unquote
The whole "story" you can read here "Beijing is ready to entertain" - what will be entertained ?
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cityguide/2008-07/31/content_6892890.htm
Today is almost August 1st - if you want to arrive in time for the opening or some competitions the later days you should have applied your visa already some time ago. Imagine you are in the States and want to apply today - you will earliest have it on Monday - maybe only Tursday and then board the plane very soon to arrive on next week Thursday. Maybe some people in EU or US are planning that short - but lets guess this is only 5- 10% - because for a resident of LA Beijing is not just around the corner - right ? Common sense Mr. Sun - where is it ?
It is admirable that you even get paid for this !
And to give some relaxation for EVERYBODY here some sweet song from ICE CUBE - we have heard he is applying CHINA VISA today:
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The Olympic Impact of Visa Regulations on Sponsors
........read the link - it was captured from the "blog-roll" and it is somewhat getting more strange & strange........:
http://www.allroadsleadtochina.com/index.php/2008/07/30/the-olympic-impact-of-visa-regulations-on-sponsors/
http://www.allroadsleadtochina.com/index.php/2008/07/30/the-olympic-impact-of-visa-regulations-on-sponsors/
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Last one for today.........
just want to say "Hello" to the first visitors from Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Hawaii & Brazil !
Spread the word.
Now almost 11,000 visitors - from more than 50 countries worldwide.
Here a little reward for all your busy reading today:
The Prodigy - Firestarter (more than 3.3 Mio hits)
Spread the word.
Now almost 11,000 visitors - from more than 50 countries worldwide.
Here a little reward for all your busy reading today:
The Prodigy - Firestarter (more than 3.3 Mio hits)
China, the Olympics and the Visa Mystery
very much worth reading this article from Stratfor - I feel free to copy a part here. Below the full link. Maybe somebody should put this on the "night table" of Mr Hu & Mr Wen and maybe also pass to some of the responsible "visa designers" in the relevant departments:
quote
Over the past several months as the Beijing Olympics drew nearer, the Chinese government has effectively frozen up most financial reform plans. It also has issued a raft of new security measures not entirely unlike other host cities in the post 9/11 security environment. But China has gone several steps further than its predecessor hosts, placing official and bureaucratic impediments on visa applications. This not only has targeted potential “troublemaking” rights advocates, it has also impacted foreign businesses ranging from invited guests to the Olympic games to managers and employees of foreign companies in China.
Business and the New Visa Hassles
The visa restrictions in particular have been a source of angst for foreign businesses and business associations. Many smaller operations may circumvent Chinese regulations and travel on tourist visas (provided they can still obtain them). And there are ways around the tighter regulations or bureaucratic hurdles if one has the right connections or the willingness to apply several times or from different locations. But multinational corporations are less willing to jeopardize their operations by skirting the laws. Instead, they are making their concerns known to Beijing and hoping that restrictions are eased in September, as Beijing has rumored and hinted will occur. In general, these visa restrictions have been brushed aside by foreign observers as simply paranoia on China’s part regarding protests or terrorist attacks during the Olympics. In many ways, however, this makes little sense.
First and most obvious, the Olympics were supposed to highlight the opening of China — not restrict the very people who have made China a key part of the global economy.
Second, imposing tight restrictions in Shanghai, the center of the Chinese foreign-domestic economic nexus, makes little sense on grounds of Olympic security since Shanghai is playing only a minor role in the games compared to Beijing and Qingdao. (Think shutting down visas to New York during the Atlanta games in the name of security, though Shanghai admittedly is hosting some soccer matches.) Shutting down business visas to keep terrorists out makes little sense anyway — it is hard to imagine Uighur militants traveling on business visas as representatives of foreign multinationals.
Furthermore, by restricting business visas — even if not across the board in a coherent fashion — China is putting a massive strain not only on the ability of businesses to trust Chinese regulations and business relations with the government, but also on the fluidity of the global supply chain. Shutting down or impeding visas affects much more than delaying the movement of a single individual into China; it impacts the ability of multinational corporations to move, replace or supplement managers and dealmakers in China.
A delayed visa applications of just three months still represents an entire quarter that multinational corporations cannot reliably manage their businesses operations i n China, and that doesn’t take into account the visa backlog when restrictions are loosened or lifted. Disrupting an integral part of the global economy for a full quarter because of an international exposition makes little sense.
The Germans in 1936 didn’t do it, the Russians in 1980 didn’t — no one has. One doesn’t simply shut down international business transactions for three months or more to stop a terrorist — and particularly not China, which depends on foreign direct investment.
This is not simply an inconvenience for some people: It is the imposition of friction on a part of the system that is supposed to be frictionless. And it is not merely individuals who are affected, but the relations between mammoth companies.
unquote
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewarticle+articleid_2449041&title=China_the_Olympics_and.html
quote
Over the past several months as the Beijing Olympics drew nearer, the Chinese government has effectively frozen up most financial reform plans. It also has issued a raft of new security measures not entirely unlike other host cities in the post 9/11 security environment. But China has gone several steps further than its predecessor hosts, placing official and bureaucratic impediments on visa applications. This not only has targeted potential “troublemaking” rights advocates, it has also impacted foreign businesses ranging from invited guests to the Olympic games to managers and employees of foreign companies in China.
Business and the New Visa Hassles
The visa restrictions in particular have been a source of angst for foreign businesses and business associations. Many smaller operations may circumvent Chinese regulations and travel on tourist visas (provided they can still obtain them). And there are ways around the tighter regulations or bureaucratic hurdles if one has the right connections or the willingness to apply several times or from different locations. But multinational corporations are less willing to jeopardize their operations by skirting the laws. Instead, they are making their concerns known to Beijing and hoping that restrictions are eased in September, as Beijing has rumored and hinted will occur. In general, these visa restrictions have been brushed aside by foreign observers as simply paranoia on China’s part regarding protests or terrorist attacks during the Olympics. In many ways, however, this makes little sense.
First and most obvious, the Olympics were supposed to highlight the opening of China — not restrict the very people who have made China a key part of the global economy.
Second, imposing tight restrictions in Shanghai, the center of the Chinese foreign-domestic economic nexus, makes little sense on grounds of Olympic security since Shanghai is playing only a minor role in the games compared to Beijing and Qingdao. (Think shutting down visas to New York during the Atlanta games in the name of security, though Shanghai admittedly is hosting some soccer matches.) Shutting down business visas to keep terrorists out makes little sense anyway — it is hard to imagine Uighur militants traveling on business visas as representatives of foreign multinationals.
Furthermore, by restricting business visas — even if not across the board in a coherent fashion — China is putting a massive strain not only on the ability of businesses to trust Chinese regulations and business relations with the government, but also on the fluidity of the global supply chain. Shutting down or impeding visas affects much more than delaying the movement of a single individual into China; it impacts the ability of multinational corporations to move, replace or supplement managers and dealmakers in China.
A delayed visa applications of just three months still represents an entire quarter that multinational corporations cannot reliably manage their businesses operations i n China, and that doesn’t take into account the visa backlog when restrictions are loosened or lifted. Disrupting an integral part of the global economy for a full quarter because of an international exposition makes little sense.
The Germans in 1936 didn’t do it, the Russians in 1980 didn’t — no one has. One doesn’t simply shut down international business transactions for three months or more to stop a terrorist — and particularly not China, which depends on foreign direct investment.
This is not simply an inconvenience for some people: It is the imposition of friction on a part of the system that is supposed to be frictionless. And it is not merely individuals who are affected, but the relations between mammoth companies.
unquote
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewarticle+articleid_2449041&title=China_the_Olympics_and.html
But there are also winners ................
for example the BOCOG which charges very "humble" internet fees in the media village - this is from here:http://www.andrewlih.com/blog/2008/07/28/olympic-media-village-internet-minibar/
“Working for the Olympics as an IT contractor, I recently moved to the Media Village (where all of the reporters live) and was surprised the there was no free internet. BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee of the 2008 Olympic Games) is charging a ridiculous amount of money for ADSL service: for
512/512 it costs 7712.5 RMB (1,131.20 USD);
1M/512 it costs 9156.25 (1,342.95 USD);
2M/512 it costs a whopping 11,700 RMB (1,716.05 USD).
That is for only one month! For extra features like a fixed IP? That costs an additional 450 RMB (66 USD). I just can’t believe that not only do I have to deal with the Great Firewall of China, but also pay through the nose to use it!”
Also here 2 comments you can find on the above blog regarding this issue:
Comment 1 from chinamatt:
"Wouldn’t it be cheaper to use an internet cafe at that point? Hell, my crappy China Telecom connection is about 700RMB for six months. Nice to see China still enjoys ripping off visitors at every turn. "
Comment 2 from spelunker:
"My guess is that every single Chinese Internet Cafe (5 RMB/hour) within a 5 kilometer radius of the Media Village will be shut down for two months, to “ensure the smooth hosting of the Olympics and safeguard the city’s social stability during the Olympic games” of course.
My suggestion is to head for the Haidian District, which has Beijing’s largest concentration of Internet Cafes."
“Working for the Olympics as an IT contractor, I recently moved to the Media Village (where all of the reporters live) and was surprised the there was no free internet. BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee of the 2008 Olympic Games) is charging a ridiculous amount of money for ADSL service: for
512/512 it costs 7712.5 RMB (1,131.20 USD);
1M/512 it costs 9156.25 (1,342.95 USD);
2M/512 it costs a whopping 11,700 RMB (1,716.05 USD).
That is for only one month! For extra features like a fixed IP? That costs an additional 450 RMB (66 USD). I just can’t believe that not only do I have to deal with the Great Firewall of China, but also pay through the nose to use it!”
Also here 2 comments you can find on the above blog regarding this issue:
Comment 1 from chinamatt:
"Wouldn’t it be cheaper to use an internet cafe at that point? Hell, my crappy China Telecom connection is about 700RMB for six months. Nice to see China still enjoys ripping off visitors at every turn. "
Comment 2 from spelunker:
"My guess is that every single Chinese Internet Cafe (5 RMB/hour) within a 5 kilometer radius of the Media Village will be shut down for two months, to “ensure the smooth hosting of the Olympics and safeguard the city’s social stability during the Olympic games” of course.
My suggestion is to head for the Haidian District, which has Beijing’s largest concentration of Internet Cafes."
".....but in the end it will be Chinese businesses that suffer...."
please read in the following link - some more views about this "china visa policy":
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20080728/FOREIGN/44274756/1015/SPORT&Profile=1015
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20080728/FOREIGN/44274756/1015/SPORT&Profile=1015
Businesses across China also are reeling ......(forbes.com)
quote
from a government decision to tighten security screening of applicants for both business and tourist visas.
Some tourists have been blocked from traveling, while others simply have been turned off. Upscale hotels, many of which went through costly renovations for the Olympics, have been half-empty in the past three months. Industry executives say it is the worst slump since a severe pneumonia outbreak that jumped from China to the world.
"It is almost as bad as 2003, when SARS broke out," said Matthew Lin, director of Bravo Tours China in Shanghai, where he said business is down 30 percent. "Many foreigners canceled their trips or didn't bother to come."
unquote
Congratulations - Job well done !
Full report here:
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/07/29/ap5265994.html
from a government decision to tighten security screening of applicants for both business and tourist visas.
Some tourists have been blocked from traveling, while others simply have been turned off. Upscale hotels, many of which went through costly renovations for the Olympics, have been half-empty in the past three months. Industry executives say it is the worst slump since a severe pneumonia outbreak that jumped from China to the world.
"It is almost as bad as 2003, when SARS broke out," said Matthew Lin, director of Bravo Tours China in Shanghai, where he said business is down 30 percent. "Many foreigners canceled their trips or didn't bother to come."
unquote
Congratulations - Job well done !
Full report here:
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/07/29/ap5265994.html
And "The Standard" also has something to say.....
yesterday (Tuesday) in "The Standard":
quote
Erm, that's not quite right, guys...
A Hong Kong daily English newspaper - not this one (the are meaning the SCMP) has been taken to task by Beijing authorities over a recent page one "scoop". The paper claimed the capital was implementing new measures to restrict business visa ahead of the Olympics.
Not true, says Zhao Hui, an official with the Beijing Municipal Buero of Commerce.
"We handled (the past ?) about 150 applications every day this month - up 52 percent against the same period last year," Xinhua News Agency quoted Zhao as saying.
We're happy to put the record straight.
unquote
Okay ......ermmmm - first they are shooting against the SCMP. Seems this is normal media business for them.
Second, Mr Zhao is saying they have "handled" about 150 applications every day this month.....!
Yes "handled" - but how many of this 150 a day have been issued then ?
Waiting for more news from "The Standard" to "put the records right". Mary Ma should write a comment about this visa issue.
ANYBODY RECENTLY HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE "VISA NOTIFICATION LETTER" ISSUED IN BEIJING PLEASE POST A COMMENT !
quote
Erm, that's not quite right, guys...
A Hong Kong daily English newspaper - not this one (the are meaning the SCMP) has been taken to task by Beijing authorities over a recent page one "scoop". The paper claimed the capital was implementing new measures to restrict business visa ahead of the Olympics.
Not true, says Zhao Hui, an official with the Beijing Municipal Buero of Commerce.
"We handled (the past ?) about 150 applications every day this month - up 52 percent against the same period last year," Xinhua News Agency quoted Zhao as saying.
We're happy to put the record straight.
unquote
Okay ......ermmmm - first they are shooting against the SCMP. Seems this is normal media business for them.
Second, Mr Zhao is saying they have "handled" about 150 applications every day this month.....!
Yes "handled" - but how many of this 150 a day have been issued then ?
Waiting for more news from "The Standard" to "put the records right". Mary Ma should write a comment about this visa issue.
ANYBODY RECENTLY HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE "VISA NOTIFICATION LETTER" ISSUED IN BEIJING PLEASE POST A COMMENT !
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Olympic paranoia clutches China
please see this - about the general security measures and the effects. A big part of the losses will come from the visa restriction - it is difficult to measure - but a certain "loss of confidence" also will turn out expensive.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JG30Ad01.html
Mr. James Osterberg aka Iggy Pop maybe will not be able to play Beijing and therefore has the "correct" song for you: NO FUN
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JG30Ad01.html
Mr. James Osterberg aka Iggy Pop maybe will not be able to play Beijing and therefore has the "correct" song for you: NO FUN
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