Olympic Visa Rules Bring Decrease in Visitors

Beijing is getting fewer foreign visitors these days, and it may be because it’s more of a pain to get a visa thanks to Olympic security concerns. The number of foreigners visiting the Chinese capital fell 5.3% to 385,000 in April, compared with a year before, according to government estimates. Earlier in the month authorities imposed tighter visa controls in the lead-up to, and during the Olympic Games in August. Visitors won’t be able to get multiple-entry visas, and in many cases are being required to prove they have hotel accommodations and return air tickets. Some travelers are also told they must return to their home countries to get a visa – no more jetting to Hong Kong and getting a quick permit there to head into China. At least not until after the Games.

Helping China Quake Victims

Victims of the Sichuan earthquake, some who have lost their only children as well as their only homes -- virtually all for which they have to live -- urgently need shelter and support. These organizations are providing needed assistance to families, especially those who have next to nothing left.

AMERICARES
88 Hamilton Avenue
Stamford, Conn. 06902
(800) 486-4357

GIVE2ASIA
China Earthquake Relief
P.O. Box 193223
San Francisco, CA 94119-3223
(415) 743-3336

HALF THE SKY FOUNDATION
Room 2703, 27/F, Shun Feng International Centre
182 Queen’s Road East

SAVE THE CHILDREN
China Earthquake Relief
54 Wilton Road
Westport, Conn. 06880
(800) 728-3843

WORLD VISION
P.O. Box 9716
Federal Way, Wash. 98063-9716
(888) 56-CHILD (562-4453)

Could China Quake Shake Olympics?

China reported a big earthquake of magnitude 7+ today near Chengdu, Sichuan province. Initial reports of hundreds possibly dead is almost certainly vastly below the actual number, which will trickle upward. Rural Chinese construction is shoddy at best, and populated areas near a quake of that magnitude will be flattened. Godspeed to the rescuers attempting to reach those buried and trapped.

At only some 1,000 miles from Beijing, will this affect the Olympics, scheduled to open in less than three months? Unlikely -- Beijing's buildings, especially those built in the last 30 years, have earthquake safeguards designed in. But if a temblor of the size of the 7.8-magnitude quake that hit Tangshan in 1976 comes during the Olympcs, that could bring the Games to a standstill. Tangshan is only about 130 miles east of Beijing, and the Chinese capital was still digging out from the rubble of collapsed homes and rickety buildings. I saw that myself, as the Tangshan earthquake was in July, 1976 and I was in Beijing that September.

If You're in China and Want Olympic Tickets ...

... you're out of luck. At least if you want to buy them retail. The last wave of tickets to Olympic events in Beijing this August was sold out in a rush today, a month ahead of schedule, according to an AFP report. Tens of millions of people went online and lined up at banks like the woman in the AFP photo here for the final 1.38 million tickets for competition in Beijing and equestrian events in Hong Kong. There are, however, some seats available for qualifying soccer matches in Shanghai, Shenyang, Tianjin and Qinhuangdao.

So, what is the scalping scene going to be? With so many more wealthy entrepreneurs and other Chinese in recent years, and Chinese companies such as Lenovo and Haier rising to international prominence, those prices are likely to tower like Yao Ming over their face value. And what could be more prestigious for Chinese than to offer (or receive) tickets to the opening and closing ceremonies, or to diving, gymnastics, table tennis and shooting events, where Chinese competitors traditionally excel?

'Forever Friends'

This is the way the Beijing Olympic organizers, and, I genuinely believe, the majority of Chinese, would like the world to anticipate the Summer Olympics, set to open Aug. 8. I attended a festival on the Ohio State U. campus on Saturday celebrating the Olympics Games coming to China. I talked to students from China attending different universities in Ohio and their views were uniform: great pride in China hosting the Olympics, and polite regret that protesters are choosing to target China and the world's biggest sporting event.

The organizers of this festival linked to a music video of "Forever Friends," one of several theme songs to pop up in advance of the Olympics. It's a feel-good celebration of the coming Games, with a heavy dose of Chinese participation. Worth a look. (The video is visible and plays in the Firefox and Safari browsers, but may not in Internet Explorer for some reason.)

Olympics Bring Tighter Visa Rules

China’s new restrictions on visas are proving mighty unpopular among business travelers. The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China have harrumphed mightily at the new rules, which have resulted in rejections of multiple-entry business visas and requests for expedited permits, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Granted, keeping track of the hordes of tourists wanting to visit China during the Games this summer, not to mention all the competitors, coaches, national Olympic committee members and journalists who will descend on the Chinese capital, is a headache of monumental proportions. After violence and deaths at the 1972 Munich Olympics and 1996 Atlanta Games, organizers' obsession over security is understandable. But the process for longstanding or clearly legitimate multiple-entry and long-term visitors should be made easier.

China to Meet With Dalai Lama Reps

Might Chinese officials have had enough of demonstrators protesting China's position toward Tibet, which has disrupted the global relay of the Olympic torch? Could be. Chinese officials have agreed to meet with representatives of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. The torch protests have quite alarmed Chinese leaders, and angered Chinese, both from the mainland and those who grew up overseas. China has accused the Dalai Lama (photo: Reuters) for being behind the protests. The torch relay is beginning to pit sides against one along the relay routes themselves, which is an embarrassment to Chinese organizers, but in my view bad for the Olympics themselves. The event and the athletes who compete in the Games don't want to be a magnet for protests or violence, and the "Beijing Olympics" is fast becoming a metaphor for "pro- and anti-China elements duking it out."