Visas in China - Arrrgh ! And other stuff.
Text courtesy http://www.bizcult.com/content/?p=443
Our visiting friend first tried in vain to get a tourist visa last week, but the efforts were in vain due to a lack of empty pages in the passport. When she came back on Monday of this week, all the regulations had changed, and she was denied again. She was referred to the Chinese consulate’s website for information on the updated required documents list, which of course has not been updated since January.
The list of required documents that are now necessary for the tourist visa, which she gleaned in part from fellow wannabe travelers on their 3rd and 4th attempts, seems to be growing by the day, and is in addition to the regular application. No one seems to know what is going on, and the general consensus is that you are completely at the whim of the attendants’ moods. Here is at least what she ultimately said one could be asked for by the consulate:
* A copy of a hotel reservation made for the day of arrival, or a signed letter of invitation from someone currently in the country
* Copies of your plane ticket. Some have reported that visas are being denied on the basis of wanting to see actual paper tickets, which we haven’t seen since Mao was still alive.
* A bank statement with a minimum of US$3,000
* A letter from your employer saying you’ll be on vacation during the time that the airline ticket shows
We wouldn’t believe the list either if we hadn’t just got off the phone with the friend (who arrived at the consulate two hours before opening, and only managed to score 30th in line), but the account seems to align with what’s going through the mainstream media at the moment.
According to the International Herald Tribune, in the absence of an official line from Beijing about recent visa changes, the void is being taken up by rumors, stories and confusion.
We know for sure that multiple entry visas have been suspended until after the Olympics, but the latest twist is that only 30-day single or double-entry visas are being issued, and some expats already in China are being required to return to their home country to get them. That’s right, no more Hong Kong or Macau visa havens.
The article adds that there actually has been one official statement from a Chinese official. Jiang Yu, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, insisted no policy changes have been made, saying, “The Chinese people will welcome foreign friends in a warm, enthusiastic and open-minded way.”
In other words, bring every scrap of paper that they could possibly ask for when applying for the visa, and allow for plenty of time and backup plans. You’re probably going to need them.
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Funny, I had to provide ahhhh, let me see.... NONE of this to get my visa in early May 08.
Seems my papers "were in order".
Must be something to do with me NOT being an American. As you know, there has been a lot of drama occurring between the US and China lately. Dodgy pet food, massive recalls of toys with lead based paint (children have a habit of gnawing on their toys)... the list goes on.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Australia paid a trip to China (amongst other countries) on his FIRST overseas foray after being elected earlier this year. He *notably* avoided visiting Japan, to China's glee.
Oh, I forgot to mention. The Australian P.M. just happens to be fluent in Mandarin. He made a pretty good impression by giving Japan the finger on that trip, and pissing into China's pocket - I daresay.
(Pissing into anothers' pocket : Australian vernacular for being so physically close to someone that you could literally urinate into their hip or back pocket)
Apart from that, Australia provides literally shit-loads of Natural Gas, Coal, Iron Ore, Bauxite and Nickel to China. We're not talking one or two boatloads here - visualise oh, $10 billion a year or so. Moreover, Australia doesn't have any nagging political or trade issues with China. We're not spoiling for a fight.
It's just better to shut up about certain things, the Chinese can handle their internal matters without too much unsolicited overseas "advice".
It's handy being Australian sometimes, makes things a hell of a lot easier - especially when it comes to getting a China visa but all that could change in an instant.
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The "Other Stuff".
Remember I mentioned thick books and essays in a previous post ? Read all of this - and many other leaflets, and read them fast.
Another Bloody University Assignment.
.... One important way is through the development of a set of materials that we have called the "Terrorism Intelligence Report". This assessment item requires that you research, document and analyse, in depth, two terrorist organisations that have been active over the study period.
.....We are not looking for complete coverage of the news, but rather a deeper analysis of just two groups. You should collect relevant information about the issues/events and collate them into a dossier. Once you have created your dossier you should convert this information into an Intelligence report.
We ask you to provide an intelligence report (around 2,000 words) that would be useful for the Australian Government in assessing the security implications of the organisations' activities (for Australians and Australia's national interests).
.....You should also suggest some policy implications and/or travel warnings.
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Man, I thought I'd finished that sort of stuff decades ago !
Getting my hands on classified documents, radio and email intercepts, real-time tactical movement information and satellite imagery in China is IMPOSSIBLE !
(But, who said I'd be doing that, huh ?)
Well, back to the old drawing board - public domain information.
That will be about as interesting as a visit to a 1/10th of an acre vegetable farm in Hunan Province on a rainy day.
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