Joelistics Project Update: Joel is threatened with jail time in China!!
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What happens when you over stay your visa in China one week before the 60th anniversary of communist rule…Read on
A fugitive in China…well not really, but I did overstay my visa for 13 days and experienced first hand the wrist-slitting tedium of Chinese bureaucracy. I also had the unique pleasure of spending five days of my life (which I will never get back) being lied to, frustrated and threatened by police and immigration authorities in my vain attempts to abide by the correct protocol.
But first, a little light hearted background info –
On the first day of October in the year 2009, China, the rising super power of the modern world celebrated 60 years of Communist rule.
The scale of this event can not be underestimated. The build up was dramatic.
Army and police were everywhere. Citizens were scanned for explosives at every sub way station. In Beijing, there was a palpable sense of joyous paranoia and Nationalistic pride dripped down the legs of the city.
With these forces at play, my travel companion Evan and I arrived in Beijing from Shanghai at 7.30am, tired and hung over, exactly one week before the October 1st celebrations.
Trudging with our backpacks through the Beijing smog we made our way to a hotel to check-in, have breakfast and sleep off our sleep dep.
On arrival, we handed over our passports for registration. With a look of utter panic, the girl behind the counter informed me that my visa was 9 days over due (How this happened is another story)
She explained that without a valid visa I could not legally check in to a hotel anywhere in Beijing and all hotel staff in the capital had been advised to inform the police if such a situation were to occur. She was supposed to ring the police and inform them of my status immediately.
I called some friends who had lived in China for years to gather advice.
My intell informed me that I was most likely looking at a penalty of 500RMB ($100AUD) for every day I had over stayed.
I was also told a few horror stories of visa over stayers who had spent time in prison …. (Click here read the full story)
- Written by Joelistics (Joel Ma) for www.myvisiontv.com.au/joelistics
