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May 6th, 2008 02:15 PM #1
With the forthcoming Beijing Olympics in it's final 100 day countdown, some of the lucky ones amongst us may have already been planning to visit China and experience this vast country with it's diverse cultural experience.
Well if you are one of these fortunate people you may be in for a shock.
[SIZE=3]Filipinos are not welcome - official![/SIZE] [SIZE=2]and further more almost all other nationalities are now experiencing extreme restrictions on the issuing of travel visas into China.[/SIZE]
How do i know this....well here are the facts which in the past 3 to 4 weeks I have had PERSONAL experience of......firstly the background:-
I am an English expat married to a Pilipina. we also have a Filipino son and daugther. I work full time in mainland China living there with my wife and daughter. Our son is in boarding school in our 'home' town of Puerto Princesa.
There is a small Filipino expat community in our town here in Shunde, some are married to fellow expats here, some are on business visas, some on tourist visa, and some are on residency visas.
Case 1 - My fellow workmate - a Filipino - who had been legally working here on a residency visa for over 5 years recently applied as normal for his annual visa renewal. After a few days his visa application was DENIED, and he was told he had to go to the Chinese consula office in Hong Kong (1/2 day travel time away).
When he arrived at the building with all of his correct documentation there was a long queue outside being controlled by a Chinese mainland official. This official was checking passports. My workmate noticed certain people being taken out of the queue and sent away. When he got to the front of the queue his passport was checked and he was told, 'Filipinos must now all go home to Philippines and apply to the Chinese embassy personally in Manila'. No amount of arguing or the fact that he had a VALID Chinese residency card, or EVEN the fact that his family were all at home in China changed this. He is now at home in Manila BUT has been told officially by the Chinese embassy that he will only be allowed a 10 day single entry visa back into China. To renew this he must return again to Manila and re-apply.
Case 2 - Another workmate, also Filipino has been working here as a designer for over 2 years on a 12 month business multi-entry visa. He too has been told he must return to Manila and apply directly to the Chinese embassy where they will issue a 10 day single entry visa only. He leaves here in 6 days when his current visa expires.
Both of my 2 workmate's jobs are now at risk and with it their family's future.
Case 3 - Our son for the past 2 years has spent his summer vacation (april and May) with us here in China. normally we fly into Hong Kong and apply for his tourist visa in the travel agent the same day.
Not any more.....we were told to pre-arrange all his flights and go to Manila to apply for his visa (but only likely to be granted a 7 or 10 day single entry). Applications in Manila take AT LEAST 5 working days and must be done in person. That would mean 6 or 7 days in hotels waiting for the visa but with NO GUARANTEE of acceptance. We have now cancelled this holiday arrangement. We are going to Palawan instead (much better anyway in my opinion).
Case 4 - 2 of our Filipina colleagues who were band singers were legally working here in a 5 star hotel on a 6 month renewable contract. They went for a shopping day out to Macao (about 3 hours away). When thay tried to return back into China (using their visa) the border immigration stamped something in their visa which basically said, 'no further visas to be issued'.
When they challenged this back at their hotel the official response was 'The Chinese government want to stop Filipinas entering the country to cut down on the *** TRADE! Absolutely disraceful!!!!!!!
Case 5 - My USA work colleague married to a Taiwanese with 2 children living here in China also tried only this week to renew his residency visa. He was denied and had to go to Hong Kong, spend 2 days there in expensive hotels before being granted a 1 month single entry visa. again he will have to go back to Hong Kong to renew every time.
For me and my family, our residency visas expire on 8th August (the first day of the Olympics!!!). I'm not looking forward to the forthcoming application process.
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May 6th, 2008 03:46 PM #3
More importantly, what's the DFA doing about this? Maybe we can send a message by inviting Taiwan for bilateral defense talks on the Spratlys. That'll shake these arrogant chinese officials up.
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Tsikot Member Rank 2
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May 6th, 2008 03:54 PM #4masyado kasi mabait mga pinoy kaya minsan naabuso din... so dapat mga pinoy always take guard and make a stand...
kung ganyan nila i-treat mga pinoys aba eh magkanya kanya na tayo... peace to those chinese here in manila but i think they should go back to mainland kung ganyan din lang kayo sa mga pinoy
even sa spratlys.. we should make our stand there if we really want to claim it.. wag tayong papasindak sa kanila...
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May 6th, 2008 04:40 PM #5
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May 6th, 2008 06:52 PM #9
Somehow I'm not surprised. China still has an authoritarian government at the helm. I'm pretty sure they will exploit the Olympics to the hilt showcasing Communist China has come of age to their own people.
Beyond that, the only other reason I can think of is they want total home court dominance. No cheering squads for the other teams.
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No experience pero, I think it should be fine. The Innova (any model except the Zenix) has been in...
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