中国在奥运会前加强签证管理 China Begins Crackdown On Visas As Olympics Near |
| 中国警方正加强对在京居住外国人的签证管理。这明显体现出在明年的奥运会来临之前，中国政府的焦虑情绪日益增强。 据受此次行动影响的人士及知情人士透露，整治行动已于近几周展开，对象是那些签证过期或滥用签证的在京居住或工作的外国人。警方在住宅楼及酒店进行抽查，一旦发现有违规行为，签证持有者将被处以罚款，某些情况下甚至会被拘留或驱逐出境。 作为此次行动的一部分，中国警方还对居住在涉外公寓的人员进行询问，并上门访查，要求住户提供材料证明其合法身份。 中国官员建议记者向公安部(Ministry of Public Security)询问此次整治行动的具体情况。但是公安部并未回复记者本周的数次置评要求。 美国大使馆周二向在京的美国公民发出了一则通知，称公安部确保外国人持有有效签证的举措是在为奥运会做准备。上个月美国大使馆发出的一则通知指出，已于7月份生效的新法规禁止外国人转变签证类型，例如将旅游签证转成工作签证。除此之外，法规中还制定了其他一些措施。 美国大使馆表示，最近已经发生了数起美国公民因签证过期或其他违规行为而被拘留的事件。来自其他国家的保姆和女佣也有因在京非法工作而被拘留的情况。 奥运会明年8月才举行，为何现在就开始了整治行动，个中缘由还不是很清楚。不过，观察人士表示，中国政府担心恐怖分子或法论功等组织会蓄谋破坏奥运会。 一位中国政府高级官员本月在接受官方报纸《中国日报》采访时表示，虽然北京奥运会的总体安全形势依然稳定，但恐怖势力、分裂势力和极端势力对奥运会的威胁仍然存在。 北京一家风险管理公司ChinaWhys Co.的董事总经理彼得•汉福瑞(Peter Humphrey)表示，中国政府担心一些不受欢迎的人已经进入中国境内，并住在涉外社区中，其中有些人可能会威胁到北京奥运会。汉福瑞还说，中国政府针对在京非法工作的外国人开展整治行动，此举可能也饱含加强税款征收的动机。 北京开展的整治行动似乎并未对持合法签证的外国人造成影响。但是，很多外国人持旅游签证或短期商务签证入境，在华停留时间超过了规定期限，有些人还非法工作。 一直以来，中国政府都有这样的规定，违反签证规定的外国人一旦被发现，每天将被罚款66美元，罚款总额最高为661美元，并可处以最多30天的拘留处罚。但是直到最近，这项规定的执行都不到位，外国人可能在华非法工作很多年而没有被发现。同样，公安机关要求外国人在入境后，应立即到当地派出所办理登记手续。以前，政府部门不会对未进行登记的外国人追究责任。 北京一高档住宅区优山美地(Yosemite)的客服中心经理助理李女士(Li Shizhong)表示，在过去几周里，警方对小区中外国住户的登记情况检查得更频繁了，尤其是对小区内非法工作的菲律宾籍保姆和女佣。这类规定早就已经出台，但是执行一直不到位。最近，当地警方加强了对外国人和菲律宾籍(女佣)的检查，他们随时都会来检查。 其他国家的一些奥运官员表示，他们在为雇员办理来华多次入境签证时，遇到的困难更大了。新西兰奥运代表团团长柯瑞(Dave Currie)认为，这或许会给那些前往中国大陆和香港的奥运考察团带来麻烦。大部分奥运会比赛项目将在中国大陆举行，奥运会马术比赛则在香港举行。 北京警方还在对学校和酒店进行检查，根据规定，酒店需要对入住的外国人进行登记。 比如，北京一所私立幼儿园上个月要求一名31岁的美籍教师在家休息三天，因为警方计划对学校的所有外籍教师进行检查。校方告诉这名教师，如果她回校工作，校方会遭到重罚。这名教师持有效的旅游签证在学校工作，警方曾对她所居住小区里的外国住户进行检查，而她被询问过两次，目前她正等待学校为其办理有效的工作签证。 北京中国大饭店的一名前台表示，虽然酒店总会检查客人的签证和护照，但最近还是召开了两次员工会议以加强旅客的登记工作。持过期签证的外国人将被谢绝入住，而签证即将到期的外国旅客会受得到提醒。 |
| Chinese police are stepping up enforcement of visa restrictions for foreigners living in Beijing, in an apparent sign of the government's heightening anxiety about the Olympics next year. The crackdown, which began in recent weeks, is targeting foreigners living or working in Beijing under expired or misused visas, according to people affected and others familiar with the recent efforts. The crackdown has involved police spot checks at homes and hotels, and resulted in fines and, in some cases, detention or deportation. As part of the effort, people residing in compounds known to have foreign residents have been stopped by police or visited in their homes and asked to prove their legal status. Chinese officials referred inquiries about the crackdown to the Ministry of Public Security, which didn't respond to repeated requests for comment this week. A notice sent to American citizens in Beijing Tuesday by the U.S. Embassy said that the security ministry's push to ensure foreigners have valid visas is 'in preparation for the Olympics.' An earlier Embassy notice last month said new regulations had taken effect in July that would bar foreigners from converting one kind of visa, such as a tourist visa, to a work visa, among other measures. There have been several recent detentions of American citizens for overstaying visas or other violations, according to the U.S. Embassy. Other foreigners illegally working as nannies or housekeepers have also been among those caught. It isn't clear precisely why the Olympics, slated for next August, have prompted a crackdown now. But observers say the government is concerned about disruptions of the Games by terrorists or by groups it finds politically objectionable, such as the Falun Gong spiritual group. A senior Chinese official was quoted in the state-run China Daily newspaper this month saying that while the overall security situation for the Olympics 'remains stable, we still face the challenges of terrorism, separatism and extremism.' Chinese officials 'are concerned that certain undesirables may have come into China and may be residing in the foreign community here, and that some of them may represent risks to the Olympics games,' said Peter Humphrey, managing director of ChinaWhys Co., a Beijing-based risk-management firm. Mr. Humphrey said the government may also be motivated in part by a desire to improve tax collection by cracking down on foreigners working without permission. The Beijing crackdown doesn't appear to affect foreigners who abide by their visa restrictions. But many foreigners enter China with visas for tourism or short-term business trips, then stay longer than the allowed period, sometimes working illegally. Longstanding rules have stipulated that, if caught, such people can be fined $66 a day, up to a total of $661, and can be detained for as many as 30 days. Until recently, though, lax enforcement has meant that foreigners working illicitly have been able to stay undetected for years. Similarly, foreign residents have been urged to go to their local police stations to register immediately after entering the country; in the past, those that didn't weren't pursued by the authorities. Li Shizhong, assistant manager of the customer-service center of Yosemite, an upscale residential community in Beijing, said police have visited her compound more frequently in the past few weeks to check on foreign residents' registrations. In particular, police seem to be targeting nannies and housekeepers in the compound from the Philippines who were working illegally. 'These are all existing regulations, but they were not strictly implemented in the past,' said Ms. Li. 'Recently, the local police have enhanced the checks on the foreigners and Filipino [housekeepers]. The police just come and check anytime they like.' Some Olympics officials from other countries say they are experiencing greater difficulty getting multiple-entry visas to China for their employees. This could pose a problem for those needing to make inspection trips to mainland China, where the bulk of the sporting events are being held, and Hong Kong, which will host the equestrian events, said Dave Currie, chief of mission for the New Zealand Olympics team. Beijing police are also inspecting schools and hotels to see if they are strictly complying with laws that require hotels to register their foreign guests. A 31-year-old American kindergarten teacher at a Beijing private school, for example, was asked by school administrators to stay home for three days last month because the police were planning to come check all the foreign teachers. 'If you come to work, [we'll] get seriously fined,' she said her boss told her. She had been working with an unexpired tourist visa and was also stopped in front of her apartment twice by police who were checking the foreigners in her compound, and is now waiting for the school to process a proper working visa for her. A reception-desk employee for the China World Hotel in Beijing said that, although the hotel always checked guests' visas and passports, the staff was called into two meetings recently about enhancing the registration system. Foreign visitors found with expired visas are turned away, while those with visas close to expiration are given warnings. |
