June 27, 2008
How much are Beijing's Olympic security measures costing China?
With less than six weeks before the Games, the Chinese visa situation Shanghaiist reported on earlier this month is not getting any better. Many foreign residents living here for years are now being forced to leave China, and some of them are reconsidering "how much of their operations they keep in China," Andrew Work, executive director of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said. The Wall Street Journal follows a story similar to that of Canadian Daniel Yeung in the Globe and Mail. John T. McAlister, the American co-founder of a scientific-research company, leaves China today after making it his home for the past eight years. Through a series of complications, McAlister had been forced to live on a renewed F (temporary business) visa for the past six months. When it was time to switch to a Z visa, many of the registered companies he appealed to to sponsor him had trouble providing him with working papers. McAlister was told he was too old to qualify for proper work permits (he is 71), but wasn’t told what the official cutoff age was. "The problem about all of this is the suddenness and enforcement of rules that may have existed always but are hard to accommodate in a short period of time," McAllister told WSJ.
China's heightened security measures are causing many others to worry, too. Judging from businesses across the country this summer, visa restrictions are in danger of preventing the economic windfall that many anticipated the Olympics would bring. Hotels and restaurants in many of China’s cities have reported the worst business in years. "Business has never been so bad," Ma Yi, the manager of a restaurant in Yiwu, told the LA Times on Monday. Information from the Beijing Tourist Bureau obtained by the New York Times on Tuesday stated that only 44 percent of the rooms in four star hotels and 77 percent of five-star hotel rooms are booked. Other forms of housing are suffering too: Peking Duck’s Richard says that in the past few weeks, the prices of Beijing apartments on Craigslist have been experiencing "something akin to a meltdown." The Associated Press wonders if it’s not only China’s security restrictions and limited Olympic tickets that are keeping potential tourists from visiting: many foreigners could be put off because the government seems more concerned with keeping them out than welcoming them to the Games.
The Summer Games were predicted to bring 500,000 visitors and an extra $4.5 billion in revenue to Beijing, United Press International attests. But in recent weeks, the New York Times’ David Barboza notes, Beijing appears to be "less concerned about hosting a global party and more concerned with making sure no one spoils it." As James Fallows notes, the problem goes deeper. In its long-awaited moment of glory, China seems to be sabotaging itself. Fallows cites the crackdown on visa-issuance and foreign journalists, combined with the increased presence of the "Hand of the State" in Beijing, as measures that are undermining China’s goal of glory and world prestige. Perhaps "no one in a position to make these decisions understands how they’ll look to foreign eyes," Fallows hypothesizes. Or, he continues, maybe those in power have decided to sacrifice good PR for airtight control. Regardless of their intent, how much are Beijing's Olympic security measures costing China?
Photo by Theo W L Jones.
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Aah, bless. It's sweet how all these foreign commentators think that (a) the Chinese govt gives two millions of a shit about what the laowai population of China thinks and (b) that not issuing so many visas for a few months is going to make one iota of difference to the juggernaut of China's economic growth or global PR campaign over the Olympics. Face facts people, we are here on their sufferance and they can mess with us at will. Last I checked it wasn't a free country!
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It seems there might even be a problem with renewing Z visas for the same job. I've been hearing a lot of odd stories that don't seem to make sense. I'm hoping that most of the problems about renewals within China are just some sort of backlog in the system.
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@ridh - if these people really do move their companies out of china, you will see some kind of impact on your economy. besides, it's the Olympics, you know people will show up. it's 4.5 billion USD "free money," you can't go wrong with that... so why not just issue the visas to tourists and longtime foreign residents alike?
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Great story - no real surprises there.
However i was curious to read what the foreign media are writing about the situation. so i click through the Globe and Mail.....Strewth! These guys must have learnt a thing or two from the Chinese ...... to read the full article they are charging $4.95!
FOUR DOLLARS BLOODY NINETY FIVE CENTS for a single article!
How much to buy the paper?
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Hmm, so what does China want all those laowai to come for? They will hve the media glorfying how clear of crowds Beijiang is showing nice images of what they promise will be bluer skies, and no risk of an international terrorism incident. Seems to me they have it all figured out.
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The games are intended for domestic consumption. They will reassure the people that their taxes are being wisely spent, the great Chinese dragon is rising, blah blah etc.
To prevent itself from looking incompetent in its own people's eyes is the govt's main goal. So they will gladly sacrifice the hospitality industry. And of course they will still let in enough to give the impression of hospitality.
So many Chinese get so excited to see one foreigner. Imagine how it will look on TV when there are TEN foreigners all sitting next to each other watching Liu Xiang run! Isn't the Fatherland glorious?
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----"Many foreign residents living here for years are now being forced to leave China"?
Who forced you to STAY at first place? Why you so-called expats are so keen hanging on in China, a country ruled by "demon commie" and shrouded by "deadly smog" and why so many of you are waiting in line for a Chinese green cards while cursing China on daily basis?
I guess it is because nobody would give you guys a second meals and second glance in your motherland.
I think it high time to get rid of your type of "surviver complex" of over 250,000 in Beijing and Shanghai and clean the subway of western body odor for good, especially in afternoon time.
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Who forced you to STAY at first place?
Um, I dunno. Maybe some of us like living here? Maybe some of us have made a life, or have ample business opportunities or our career path has led us here? Odd thing that.
If y'all are so keen on kicking foreigners out, why even invite anyone at all for the Olympics? Why not just play the National Games - then you won't have to worry about snooping reporters, torch relays, or Free T!bet protesters. Just watch Liu Xiang win gold, and the basketball team won't have to worry about getting out of a group with Spain and the US and Angola.
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In the US there are such tight restrictions toward Chinese foreigners to do business here. Interviews, verification that you have enough incomes, and the visa is not even usually permanent. I know it sucks, but wait for 2 more months and the visa situation will relax.
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China is hoping to get rid of the foreigners who know badirty china for the pile of shit that it is while attracting naive tourists to waste money and be blinded the Potemkin villages up and down the east coast.
What a dirty, pile of shit country. Burn China Burn!
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Every country has it's right to security. The US INS certainly isn't a cakewalk if you aren't American. None of what China's doing right now with immigration is unreasonable. In fact, it's pretty much the standard anywhere in the world. The 'problem' is twofold:
1. things have been so lax for so long that everyone is in the habit of thinking that's the way it should always be
2. Chinese immigration offices do such a HORRIBLE job of communicating the changes. In fact, they don't communicate them at all. I had to go three times to the Chinese embassy in SF for a lousy 30 day tourist visa, because they changed all the requirements and didn't tell anyone! Not on their web site, and then the poster in the room is only partial, so you get to the glass and they tell you your materials are incomplete. And then, if you don't ask them to list ALL the new requirements they wont! They'll only tell you the FIRST thing they notice is missing. And believe me, I wasn't the only one dealing with this classic performance of Chinese bureaucracy. Everyone I spoke to in the waiting room (I'm pretty outgoing) had the same problems. I lost 3 half days of time because of their totally shitty attitude about communication. If I didn't have pressing NON OLYMPIC matters to attend to here, I would have definitely said "screw it" and gone somewhere else where they can at least tell you what materials need to be in your application in advance.
It's not unreasonable to have strict security. It IS unreasonable to expect people to learn about such measures through mental telepathy.
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Eastman, I guess you aren't familiar with irony. One example would be going on a post regarding the Olympics, an event in which China is supposed to be welcoming the world, on an English-language website about China, to talk about how awful foreigners are, and then to mention the foreign stench on the subway (not only limited to French people), which may not even be expanding if there was no world expo on the horizon, another event designed to showcase the greatness of China to foreigners.
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@bearsito
I totally agree with you about the awful communication - a forte of the Chinese government.
And of course security is important, but despite their strictness, the measures that have been taken are unlikely to be effective, and are unreasoable more than anything else. A terrorist would be very unlikely to have any problems getting the hotel reservations and return flight needed to get a visa, and the 30 day limit would be enough time to cause trouble. Besides, it is much more likely that a threat to security would come from within the country, eg Uighur separatists.
The arguement that developed countries have similar rules doesn't really hold water since China is unlikely to be affected by economic immigration in the the same way as developed countries - in fact it is more likely to be beneficial.
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Great article, Adrienne!
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you can talk shit all you want about it being hard to get an american visa (which i think is a terrible thing) but the fact remains that there are way more people of chinese decent living in the US than there are people of american decent (even all westerners combined) living in china. If you go to the us you can actually live there, retire there, die there, if you want. sure there are too many restrictions and we should all pressure the american government to ease up for everyone's sake. the same goes for the chinese government. 2 wrongs don't make a right, kindergarden lessons people. i mean, freedom of movement is pretty cool, would also be nice if chinese citizens could move around there own country more freely.
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their own country
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no one picked up on the mental telepathy comment? jeez... I'm so disappointed... that was the best line in my rant!