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Renewing my Chinese Visa

Written by Robert Vance on March 24, 2008 – 9:15 am

It is my fault. I shouldn’t have waited until three days before my visa expires to look into renewing it. I just never thought the process would be so difficult. Dealing with government officials in China is enough to want to make me pound my head against a slab of concrete for an hour. I walked into a local police station this afternoon with the intent of renewing my visa, which in my situation, I should be able to do quite easily. These people almost completely ignored me and when I finally squeezed out of them that I was in the wrong police station, they refused to give me any information about where I needed to go. There is such a disconnect in China as well as a lack of concern amongst government officials towards foreigners and Chinese people alike. If it’s not specifically their problem, they could care less what happens to you. It is also difficult to deal with these people considering that they don’t answer their phones half of the time mainly because they are either on break (11-3 in some places that I have been) or playing Majiang with their fellow officers.

Most Chinese people are used to this treatment because the general lack of concern within government places also pervades into other parts of society. Foreigners like me, however, are most likely to become frustrated since we are more accustomed to officials who care about their job and are actually in an office when they are scheduled to be. I am tired of showing up to an office at 4:30 only to find out that the man that I needed to talk to left for home 30 minutes earlier. This kind of work ethic is frustrating to deal with but not surprising since government jobs are known for cultivating lazy work habits in China.

I apoligize if this commentary seems too scathing but unfortunately I have experienced the difficulties of dealing with local government offices countless times throughout China. If you have a problem that is anyway related to dealing with these officials, it is best to begin inquiring weeks ahead of time. And be ready to wander from office to office (or precinct to precinct in my case) looking for the answer you need because it’s hard to get. That’s China so get used to it. I’m trying too!

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