Visa Run

Since I first came to China in 2001, I have always met people who needed to make a trip to Hong Kong (or some more exotic location) on an elusive 'visa run.' I've always had the right kinds of visas for the right amount of time I've been here so I've never had to do it. Alas, today I sit in Hong Kong where I needed to get before my visa ran out. My passport is currently being processed with a new visa and, assuming all goes well, I will be back in the mainland tomorrow night.

Since 1997, Hong Kong has been a part of China after it was returned after a century of British rule. However, it remains its own administrative region and all people, Chinese and Hong Kong residents included, must show a passport when crossing the border. American citizens can enter Hong Kong without a visa, but we need one to enter China (and China has no problem making Americans pay much more for a visa than other citizens). This is why it counts that I have left the country to enter in on a new visa. Some people I know living in China have visas that require them to leave the country every 90 days. A trip to Hong Kong is sufficient in fulfilling that requirement.

Before I go off on a rant, I want to say 3 things: 1) China and Hong Kong went through a lot of negotiation as the governments figured out how to merge a Communist country with a former British colony and 2) I can respect China's need to regulate visas and 3) I have no right to complain about visa regulation when I know how difficult it can be for many foreign students to come to the US (something many Americans don't think about because it doesn't involve us).

That said, the bureaucracy of regulating visas and requiring foreigners to leave the massive country that is China is a bit overstretched. Hong Kong, once the mecca for most foreigners in China to converge, has lost its appeal as Beijing and Shanghai and Guangzhou become more 'Westernized.' But it remains the place to come when one has to 'leave the country' even though, in technical terms, it remains a part of China. Beijing continues to execute power with things from the past when, in the eyes of many others, it seems illogical. If its money China is after, I know many people who have claimed they would rather pay all the money they pay to take the trip to Hong Kong to the the Chinese government visa office than deal with the hassle of physically getting out bodies 'out' of the country just to be able to get back 'in.' I wonder how long Beijing can hold onto all of these old rules and regulations by picking and choosing where it can execute authority.

Oh well. Rant over. Hong Kong is not a bad place to be, despite the August heat and humidity. Cheap Indian food is all over the place here. And people speak better English than Mandarin. So very odd.