Cracking Down

Trip Start Jun 03, 2006
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Trip End Ongoing


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Flag of China  ,
Saturday, September 15, 2007

It might just be that I'm more aware, or more sensitive, or it could just be coincidence, but I'm starting to get a feeling that the Chinese authorities - and certainly those in Guangdong - are getting much stricter about the presence of foreigners on the mainland. Some might say it's not before time, as I find myself increasingly embarrassed at being associated by the Chinese with some of the dregs of Western society who are instantly recognisable here in Southern China. When I say that, it is necessary to remember that for a society for whom non-Chinese faces were a strange rarity until recently, it is only natural to lump all foreigners together. 

It might actually be that the authorities are just starting to apply the rules ahead of the Olympics, but the increasing local media reports of crime committed by foreigners probably give the lie to this. It seems that the major problems relate to drugs and organised scams preying on a relatively naïve population's desire to "get rich quick".  The drugs influence is often easy to see when you see foreigners on the street and it's depressing that these individuals are potentially the first personal exposure many Chinese get to foreigners. It is interesting that the media often single out particular ethnic groups of foreigners and label them. For example, Black Africans are doing this..., Arabs are doing that...

The strands of a picture of a crackdown all started to fit together in a hurry. The Public Security Bureau(PSB) was suddenly in and out of school checking on teachers and there were stories of PSB checks across the region.  The South China Morning Post ran stories about the Guangdong PSB's plan to create a database of all foreigners in the province and their whereabouts. I was amazed to find that this didn't already exist, but it is probably a reflection of the imbalance between the speed of the influx of foreigners in Guangdong and the slow moving pace of Chinese civil servants. Just days later, the local paper ran a cartoon showing Beijing's Olympic "Bird Nest" surrounded by undercover security agents wearing dark glasses and long leather jackets. There was, it seems, an Olympic security conference taking place to address "issues", not least the almost unrestricted movement of foreigners across China's non-airport borders such as those in Guangdong.  The following week, I meet some Africans who'd been deported from China for irregularities in their paperwork that exist for hundreds of foreigners in China. 

None of this actually concerns me too much as I consider myself to be someone on the right side of the rules. I can only applaud and appreciate their being applied with greater clarity and consistency. However, in a country where corruption is endemic and visas are systematically available through the back door of the immigration office, one can't help getting a bit twitchy. I don't think anyone really knows what is going on, and that can only mean that rules get made up on the spot and by the wallet. I can't help thinking that life is going to change for non-Chinese in China, but I'm not sure how and when. Here's hoping all ends well and that "normal" arrives soon.
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