Mainland Chinese visiting Taiwan 可以吗？

[owen]

I am living in Taiwan now but i have a Chinese friend and we are trying to arrange for her to come visit. But she tells me that PROC citizens without special circumstances (i.e. business or family) are not permitted to enter ROC. I am questioning whether she heard right or not. I imagined it would be difficult but i'm rather aghast at the idea that it is completely impossible. Wouldn't it be more than irksome to the Chinese government that it's citizens can't visit a place that is supposedly one of their provinces. Especially when i know that Taiwanese people are allowed to visit the mainland with a visa. My friend claims that it makes perfect sense if you consider the restriction being imposed from China's side. He reasons that the PROC government doesn't want its citizens to go to Taiwan and see how much better (highly arguable in my opinion) things are here.

Does anyone have any more information on this matter? It would be very appreciated if you could help me out with anything you know. It's hard to find reliable info on the net. Thanks

[bluepoppy]

I have heard that Mainland tourists may visit only as a part of a guided group/tour. I don't know how difficult it is to get a place on a tour though, it could be nigh on impossible for all I know.

My Mainlandish friend visited Taipei as part of her job on a work-related visa but I believe that that is extremely rare. Sorry.

[gato]

The travel restrictions are imposed by Taiwanese government. Since a few years ago, the Mainland government has been issuing passports to whoever want to go abroad with few restrictions.

Today's Mainland government would like nothing better than millions and millions of its people moving to Taiwan, but the Taiwanese government obviously wouldn't want that for both economic and electoral reasons. The DPP wants independence for Taiwan and mainland immigrants presumably wouldn't. That's why the Taiwan government has recently made it harder for spouses who are PRC Nationals to obtain Taiwanese citizenship, harder than those from any other country including Vietnam and Thailand. But then they don't like the fact that many of these non-Chinese spouses can't understand Chinese, so they're planning require Chinese classes for immigrant spouses (the draft proposal exempted White people -- well, Europeans, Americans, Australians, etc. -- which caused some protests).

Here's what I could find through a web search:

http://www.migrationint.com.au/news/sweden/oct_2000-16mn.asp

There are about 120,000 Filipinos employed legally in Taiwan.... Filipinos are about 35 percent of the 300,000 foreign workers in Taiwan....

The National Security Bureau reported that 80,000 mainland Chinese are in Taiwan, including 30,000 long-term residents. [Most of these are probably immigrant wives.]

http://www.boca.gov.tw/~boca2000/en/qa2e.htm#select24

22. Q: Can nationals of Mainland China apply for ROC visas?

A: In accordance with the Statute Governing Relations Between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, people traveling with a travel document issued by the authority of Mainland China do not qualify for ROC visas. However, people from mainland China may be qualified to apply for ROC visas if the applicants have resided in foreign countries for at least four years and have legally acquired the nationality of the foreign country where they reside.

http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/human/cross_strait_relations/exchange.html

70. Jan. 18, 2002 Expand liberalization of Mainland professionals visiting Taiwan and simplifing the application procedures. The "Measures Governing Mainland Professionals Visiting Taiwan" is revised to simplify application procedures as follows: Mainland scientists visiting Taiwan to do research in technology can stay for a maximum of six years, compared to the previous three-year limit. Mainland trade and economic officials falling under Types A, C, and D and working for multinational companies, the visa applications can be filed 10 working days before their planned trip, and under special circumstances, five working days before the trip.

http://investintaiwan.nat.gov.tw/en/faq/visas.html

Question 5: What are the related regulations for Chinese nationals entering Taiwan for business purposes?

Answer:

Foreign professionals and skilled laborers that are citizens of mainland China are subject to the regulations of Statute Governing Relations Between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area. Some regulations for Chinese nationals entering Taiwan for business purposes have been revised recently in order to simplify the application process. For more information please visit the website of the Investment Commission, MOEA.

This item below is interesting. If the Taiwan government were interested in helping reform China, it wouldn't restrict the number of mainland journalists who can travel to Taiwan to "four teams." Is that about 20 people? Its policies seem to be geared towards slowing down the inevitable exchanges between the two sides.

http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/20010717/20010717p4.html

Xinhua angered by Taiwan visa decision

Published: July 16, 2001

Source: Central News Agency

Taiwan stuck to a decision Monday to issue work permits for Beijing-based China News Agency reporters instead of reporters from the mainland's Xinhua News Agency.

Government Information Office (GIO) Director-General Su Tzen-ping said the government had made it clear that it would allow one team of journalists from each of four categories of mass media - TV, radio, newspapers and news agencies - to be posted in Taiwan.

Since Xinhua has already assigned five two-journalist teams - each team doing a one-month stint - to Taipei since the policy was introduced in February, Su said Taipei has decided to switch the right to other mainland-based agencies eager to assign reporters to the island.

Xinhua reporters' coverage of Taiwan has raised the eyebrows of Taiwan leaders, with Su publicly decrying their stories about former President Lee Teng-hui's trip to Japan in May as "biased" and "a travesty of the aim of promoting mutual understanding" for which they were allowed to work in Taiwan in the first place.

[owen]

Thanks for the replies

Wow! That's so lame. And not just because my personal plans are shot. That really makes me think twice about being pro independent taiwan. Though, once again the Chinese lack of a sense of public outrage keeps such an impingement on basic rights in existence.

The following is merely a rant about visa offices....

Visa offices are the some of the most dehumanizing places in the world. Why does it seem that so many people are OK with begging for freedom of movement? And the employees??!! How do we classify their 'job'? The DIS service industry perhaps. I am almost cetain that when they send someone away nerve-shot, worried sick, and/or utterly crestfallen that they consider it a job well done. They love that the atomization of their duties gives them the ability to act like robots. Of course negotiation at a visa office is as useful as negotiating with an ATM. So why aren't those employees replaced by machines. They have proudly declared to me many times "sorry sir i won't be looking at your visa application. It will be up to the person that handles it to decide." So why waste the money on someone sitting there arrogantly refusing to answer your questions and admitting that they have no hand in your affairs anyways. And to add to their uselessness is the fact that they are above reproach. The only thing they have to answer to is their own consicence long since beaten into submission by their overgrown egos.

I wish i ran all the world's visa issuing offices. I would implement a big mechanistic tit for tat policy. Everything would be based on reciprocity; since a foreigner can't do anything about government policy, it is necessary to force the citizens of the country to do something about it by treating those citizens similarly poorly when they visit the foreigners home country.... and perhaps telling them why they are recieving such treatment!

I hope the canadian visa issuing office puts taiwanese would be visitors, workers, or students through absolute hell (though i'm sure they have been doing a pretty good job of it all along).

[Quest]

What's lamer -- I remember someone on this forum saying if China opens up more, the PRC gov would let more of its citizens to travel [to America]. Then I told him the barrier has always been on the US side. Not just citizens from mainland China, even those from Hong Kong [a developed region] and Taiwan [a semi developed region] -- if you are not a millionair, a travel visa to the US? forget it. Many HK people I know would not bother applying even if they had the money and real estate, simply because they don't want to be "put through absolute hell".

[skylee]

Many HK people I know would not bother applying even if they had the money and real estate, simply because they don't want to be "put through absolute hell".

Me. Though I have no money / real estate.

[Ian_Lee]

The problem with visa officials in US Embassy/Consulates is that they regard anyone applying for a visa to enter into US as someone who is seeking to permanently stay in US for whatever reason and don't intend to return home.

This is not a joke. It is in fact their guideline when they interview the visa applicant.

And it is up to the visa applicant to convince those visa officials that they don't intend to do so.

According to my experience, it is easier for you to get a US visa if:

(1) You either have a lot of money deposited in the local bank or you owe a lot of money to the local bank;

(2) You have real estate;

(3) You have family;

(4) You have a steady and preferably high income job;

(5) Your age is compatible with your visa purpose, i.e. a 35-year old single woman is hardly to get a student visa.

For 20+ years old single girls, tourist visa approval is on a case by case basis. If you don't look pretty, there is a bigger chance that you can get the visa.

Anyway, even if you are denied a visa, those officials don't need to give you a reason.

And the most outrageous part is that they charge you US$100 for a tourist visa!

[Ian_Lee]

Actually due to the difficulty that everybody knows, there is more humbug for people from Taiwan to visit some places like European countries.

They have to produce round trip air tickets, employment letter, hotel voucher, health insurance, photos, bank statement,.....etc in order to get a visa.

[owen]

ya, as i mentioned in my rant i don't think that taiwan is especially difficult to enter as north america is for taiwanese or anyone for that matter

Although the reality which should be mentioned is that if north america relaxed its rules it would quickly be overwhelmed with asian immigrants whereas the reverse would most certainly not be the case.

[Ian_Lee]

Actually even for Chinese, it all depends on where you live.

If you live in Singapore, you don't need a visa to visit US. Singapore is one of the 26 countries that are visa exempt.

If you live in HK and Taiwan, actually it is not that difficult except a certain few. But of course it is a headache to go thru all the hassles. For people in Taiwan, it is more humbug because AIT only has office in Taipei.

For people in Mainland China, of course it is a big headache since the visa rejection rate is quite high.

But if you are a Chinese from Malaysia, that is a bigger headache. Malaysia is defined by State Department as one of the 25 Arab or Moslem countries that nurtures terrorists (I would say Malaysia is very secular and innocent on this aspect). All their male students in US had to line up by Homeland Security to fingerprint.

Though Chinese students from Malaysia are mostly not Moslems, they are still treated as suspected terrorists in US!

[Harpoon]

For 20+ years old single girls' date=' tourist visa approval is on a case by case basis. If you don't look pretty, there is a bigger chance that you can get the visa.

[/quote']

Why??

[skylee]

Several years ago, my co-worker (20-yish single girl) and I applied for a visa to visit Japan (back then we still needed it). I got a one-year multiple, and she only got a 3-month multiple. We did not (and still do not) exactly know why we were treated differently. But I think it was because she was young and pretty, and I was not.

[jimba_the_hut]

Actually due to the difficulty that everybody knows, there is more humbug for people from Taiwan to visit some places like European countries.

They have to produce round trip air tickets, employment letter, hotel voucher, health insurance, photos, bank statement,.....etc in order to get a visa.

Well, my GF and I travelled through Europe last year. The visa process was not all that bad. She did have to show cause for return but not to the extent that she had to bring a suit case of supporting documentation. Infact, she had recently quit her job...

Maybe the fact that she had studied in Sydney for four years helped? Possibly her educational background assisted with approval of the application?!?

On our travels she did have to have her return ticket at the ready on entry to each country but then again, as an Australian, so did I... as the customs officials recalled the fit fights they had gotten into with the drunken Aussie... in the mean time the publicans licked their lips in anticipation...