The time I was turned away from China
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The time I was turned away from China
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Re: The time I was turned away from China
#2I feel it’s kind of shady in the first place to use a transit visa to cover tech events.
Do this in the US, it’ll be worst.
Re: The time I was turned away from China
#3I feel it’s kind of shady in the first place to use a transit visa to cover tech events. Do this in the US, it’ll be worst.
The US is just weird, only country i know of that doesn't allow transit. Anywhere else you get off your plane, pass thru security and get back on your outgoing flight.
The US seems too cheap to build outgoing immigration booths, and therefore doesn't have real international departure terminals like anywhere else on the planet.
I means you can't transit the US without getting a visa
Re: The time I was turned away from China
#4Author says he doesn't touch political topics and then says he's covered censorship. This is the kind of thing which contributes to China being a total PITA with travel and internet
Re: The time I was turned away from China
#5I'm not sure on the merit of if this person should or should not be allowed into China but this happens to people everyday at US boarder control (especially from non-European countries) who are not even in media but doctors and lawyers. And America proclaims to be much more open than China so this isn't as strange as it seems.
Something that made me think was how the author waffles between being a "journalist" and being a "blogger". Bloggers do this all the time and it's troubling. In cases where important part of a story they wrote turns out to be wrong, or invades someone privacy, they just shrug their shoulders and say "Well, im a blogger, sorry!". When they are not taken seriously, the same people run to the top of the hill to say "But but but we're doing serious work here!" I won't say what Thiel did was right, i'm justing saying I understand.
Re: The time I was turned away from China
#6I feel it’s kind of shady in the first place to use a transit visa to cover tech events. Do this in the US, it’ll be worst.
The US is just weird, only country i know of that doesn't allow transit. Anywhere else you get off your plane, pass thru security and get back on your outgoing flight. The US seems too cheap to build outgoing immigration booths, and therefore doesn't have real international departure terminals like anywhere else on the planet. I means you can't transit the US without getting a visa
I don't think the US is "too cheap" but there is a perceived higher incentive to get in and stay in in the US than many other countries. Not saying its actually true but that seems like a more rational reason than penny pinching by USCIS.
Re: The time I was turned away from China
#7>The reason, as it was explained to me, was that in 2015 I had broken Chinese law when I failed to present myself to authorities in Beijing when I had visited and stayed at an Airbnb residence on two different trips. Unbeknownst to me at the time — and something that was not communicated by Airbnb — foreigners are required to register at a local police station, but in most cases the hotels where they stay handle this.
This rule is clearly explained on the back of the immigration declaration form which every visitor must personally fill out[0]. It is, in fact, item number one.
Yes, China is a totalitarian shithole. But then again some democratic countries like Japan have similar "register at local police station" rules too, so I'm very surprised that someone who spent a decade in Asia would be unaware of it.
[0] http://sydney.chineseconsulate.org/eng/gdtp/P020071009492059...
Re: The time I was turned away from China
#8Traveler does not follow the rules, abuses a Transit visa to cover non-transity-things, and is surprised when he is punished. He might not have been familiar with the exact rules governing travel, but it is fairly clear from his account that he was abusing the system, and aware of it.
>I had been waiting in line to take advantage of the city’s 144-hour ‘transit’ visa which allows travelers with an onward flight to stay in Shanghai without needing to secure a visa before they travel.
Yes, AirBnB should inform traveler's of local rules, like registering with a police station. But ignorance of the law, combined with repeated abuses shouldn't be overlooked.
>Since 2015, I have used the transit visa system on six occasions
Nothing to see here, folks. Follow the rules, don't abuse them.
Re: The time I was turned away from China
#9Does sound like the border official was being overly cautious about the author's role as a journalist.
That said, having traveled around the world on multiple visas (particularly in the US), I can vouch that traveling on any visa other than tourism is a pain in the ass. I'm always ready to be turned away. I usually have a large institution backing my non-tourism travels (a university or a large corporation) and their advice is consistently: don't argue, just turn back then tell our lawyers and let them deal with it.
Re: The time I was turned away from China
#10Another typical 'fuck-you' treatment from Chinese authorities.
Why a fuck-you treatment? Fuck you. That's why.