> The Portrait of a Fearful "Olympic Host" -- China limiting visas to
> pre-Olympics visitors
>
> -- Micky's humble opinion : This is yet another glaring example of
> Chinese stupidity. The greatest danger threatens Chinese government is
> China's thuggish rulers themselves. --
>
> China limiting visas to pre-Olympics visitors
>
> The Associated Press
> Tuesday, April 8, 2008
>
> HONG KONG: China has stopped issuing multiple-entry visas to foreigners
> and has slowed visa processing in Hong Kong, a major gateway for travel
> to the mainland, in restrictions that will remain in place until after
> the Olympics, travel agents here said Tuesday.
>
> The restrictions came amid criticism of China's human rights record
> after its recent crackdown on anti-government riots in Tibet. Protesters
> disrupted the Olympic torch relays in Paris and London this week.
>
> Luk Tak, a travel agent, said the authorities were now only issuing
> single- or double-entry visas to foreigners in Hong Kong, scaling back a
> program that issued multiple-entry business visas that lasted up to
> three years.
>
> An official at another travel agency, who declined to be named because
> of the sensitivity of the issue, said the best visa his agency could now
> obtain was a double-entry visa valid for three months.
>
> He said China also had suspended one-day travel visas to the mainland
> city of Shenzhen, a popular shopping destination near Hong Kong.
>
> Forever Bright Trading, a travel agency in Hong Kong, said on its Web
> site that multiple-entry visas had been suspended from March 28 until
> Oct. 17. The Beijing Olympics are scheduled to take place from Aug. 8 to 24.
>
> But in Beijing, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, Jiang Yu, denied
> there had been any change in policy. "China's visa policy is formulated
> according to China's laws and regulations and in line with international
> practices," Jiang said. "I have checked this information and China did
> not stop granting multiple entry visas to foreign visitors."
>
> But Luk said fewer Chinese visa offices were handling visas.
>
> He said that his agency used to submit applications to visa offices at
> the Foreign Ministry's bureaus in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and another nearby
> Chinese city, Zhuhai, but that only the Hong Kong office was now
> accepting applications. As a result, visa processing times have slowed
> from same-day to next-day turnaround, Luk said.
>
> The executive director of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong,
> Andrew Work, said the visa restrictions were affecting members of the
> chamber who travel frequently to the mainland on business. "We've got a
> lot of members who travel on short notice. Somebody says, 'I need you to
> go close a deal here,' " he said.
>
> Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997 but
> has retained separate political and economic systems. It allows citizens
> of major Western countries visa-free access, so foreigners often use the
> city as a base to travel to mainland China.
>
> The Chinese Foreign Ministry's office in Hong Kong did not immediately
> respond to a request for comment.
>
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