4 ms·

>The reason, as it was explained to me, was that in 2015 I had broken Chinese law when I failed to present myself to authorities in Beijing when I had visited a

by desdiv 9y ago

>The reason, as it was explained to me, was that in 2015 I had broken Chinese law when I failed to present myself to authorities in Beijing when I had visited and stayed at an Airbnb residence on two different trips. Unbeknownst to me at the time — and something that was not communicated by Airbnb — foreigners are required to register at a local police station, but in most cases the hotels where they stay handle this. This rule is clearly explained on the back of the immigration declaration form which every visitor must personally fill out[0]. It is, in fact, item number one. Yes, China is a totalitarian shithole. But then again some democratic countries like Japan have similar "register at local police station" rules too, so I'm very surprised that someone who spent a decade in Asia would be unaware of it. [0] http://sydney.chineseconsulate.org/eng/gdtp/P020071009492059383911.jpg http://sydney.chineseconsulate.org/eng/gdtp/P020071009492059...

hdra 9y ago
Yea, such rule is in place where I live too. Any guest staying over 24 hours need to report to the local authorities, both domestics or international. Many countries requires an official identification such as IC or passport upon hotel check-in as well. Although in my case its more about the neighbourhood security rather than a big-brother-watching kind of deal. The registrations aren't centralized or anything, and in most cases, are never read again unless something happened in the neighbourhood.
volgo 9y ago
Ya no fan of totalitarian policy, but if you try to skirt immigration laws anywhere, it won't work out well for you. Here in the U.S., I have to notify ICE everytime I change my address.], or I would be deported. Never had the courage to test them...
- BrainInAJar 9y ago
  > Here in the U.S., I have to notify ICE everytime I change my address Yeah, like OP said, "totalitarian shithole"
  - REEEEISTtard 9y ago
    Reeeee
- DrJokepu 9y ago
  You have to notify the USCIS, not ICE.
  - volgo 9y ago
    Yep my bad. Should be USCIS
schuke 9y ago
When I first went to the UK in 2004 as a student they had the same regulation. Register with local police within something like 7 days. Though this later turned out to be not very strictly enforced.
ekianjo 9y ago
> democratic countries like Japan To be fair, Japan has only existed as a functioning democracy for a very, very short time, and it still keeps a number of aspects from its previous past as a feudal/centrally governed country.
- garmaine 9y ago
  There are many democracies younger than Japan.
  - ekianjo 9y ago
    Yes, basically all the ones coming from the decolonization era. Most of them are pretty unstable, unfortunately.
- barry-cotter 9y ago
  Japan has been a functioning democracy for longer than any state outside of Western Europe or the Western European settler colonies. It had a functioning but fragile democracy from shortly after the beginning of the Meiji period until it ended after the Great Depression. That places it on company with Germany and Italy. Could you expand on the aspects you think are remnantis of its past? The Imperial Family and Household are not mentioned in the constitution and there’s no aristocracy. I’m sure it’s dominated by Tokyo and the national government but it seems unlikely to be more centralised than England, or the U.K., tout court.
sandworm101 9y ago
Not just china. A few years back I flew from Vancouver to the RSA convention in SF. I was so put off by the hotel that had been booked for me that I didn't check in. That night I got a call on my cellphone from ICE as I had not checked in at the hotel I had listed on my entrance form. Nothing came of it. But they do check on these things.
- refurb 9y ago
  How did they get your car home number? They typically don't ask for it on customs forms.
  - sandworm101 9y ago
    Not sure. I think they called the first hotel. I come in and out of the US all the time for work and was once a student there. I assume they have some sort of immigration file on me that probably has various contact details.
griffinheart 9y ago
I live in Japan for quite some time (multiple years) and never had to, or heard about, having to "register at local police station".
- Larrikin 9y ago
  Yea, I think maybe he is confusing having to always have your passport/gaijin card on you to present to police anytime they feel like bothering you.
- titanix2 9y ago
  It’s not at the police station but you still have to register at the ward office when you’re moving to a new city. Also as a "fun" fact, residence cards features the logo of the ministry of justice. Just like if all foreigners were criminal with such a high probability that this minister handle the matter from the beginning.
  - griffinheart 9y ago
    Sure, also because you're going to pay taxes into that ku (city), and they deal with pension and health insurance, even if you're not a foreigner you're going to have to register. Your residence card gets updated every time you change your address and you do have to go to the ward office for them to update it, but that's hardly "register at the police station". Edit: Most if not all the things we have to do, as foreigners, Japanese also have to do it. The big difference is we're required to have an updated/valid residence card (ID), while Japanese don't need to carry ID. I'm from Europe, and in my country everyone has an ID and is "required" to have it so I don't actually see the big deal, maybe I'm just uninformed.
    - rahimnathwani 9y ago
      "Most if not all the things we have to do, as foreigners, Japanese also have to do it." Chinese also have to register at the local police station when they move. It's not just for foreigners.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
AdamJacobMuller 9y ago
> This rule is clearly explained on the back of the immigration declaration form Is this in English/other languages, or just in Mandarin? The only part of this story that I find particularly egregious is the part where he was made to sign a form that was only in Mandarin.
- PakG1 9y ago
  Mandarin is the local rule of law language. All contracts I've ever signed that were dual language say that if any conflicts arise, the Chinese language contract will be the one used to settle the dispute. This is reasonable. You would not have immigration officers in the US telling people to sign documents written in Chinese, would you? For one thing, local officials would be unable to process those papers efficiently. Whether or not lawyers are present who can help ensure due process and explain to the person what's being signed is a completely separate matter from which language should be used. edit: comments below would cause me to change my thoughts, though I'll leave the above text unedited for history's sake.
  - garmaine 9y ago
    > This is reasonable. You would not have immigration officers in the US telling people to sign documents written in Chinese, would you? Well they do, for the record, if you enter at the right port.
  - ajdlinux 9y ago
    Australian immigration and customs officials will supply translations of the main forms for all the major European and Asian languages that travellers tend to speak and interpreters for cases where they're considering refusing clearance or cancelling a visa. I would expect most Western countries would have the ability to do that.
- starky 9y ago
  It is in English on the back of the immigration form. There is really no excuse for not knowing about it. As mentioned in the article, you don't need to worry about it if you stay in a proper hotel, only if you are staying at someone's residence.
geomark 9y ago
Thailand, where the author said he lives, also has a similar "register at local police station" rule. Even when you live full time in Thailand, if you stay overnight somewhere other than your normal residence you are supposed to report it. Or the hotel or homeowner is supposed to report it. Rarely enforced,except when it's time to make a another big show of cracking down on dirty foreigners making trouble in the country.
- rveeblefetzer 9y ago
  A friend got slapped with a fine over this. He's a foreign resident, and he changed hotels while on a trip. That information is bundled up and sent to the authorities, and they cross-checked him with the address he put on his travel form. Thousand baht fine. FWIW, I brought this same friend to the police station where I'm a registered resident in Shanghai, so he could stay with me on a 72-hour visa. At the airport, he was told that if he doesn't register and it's discovered, it could affect his ability to get a visa in the future. This was only a few months ago.
gumby 9y ago
France and Germany have the same rules for residents and for visitors France and some parts of Germany (e.g. Bayern last time I was there) require it. In the us for the past 15 years or so my ID has always been copied/scanned when staying in a hotel.
cylinder 9y ago
You have to declare where you are staying on the customs declaration card in the US and UK amongst other countries too.

by desdiv 9y ago

hdra 9y ago

Yea, such rule is in place where I live too. Any guest staying over 24 hours need to report to the local authorities, both domestics or international. Many countries requires an official identification such as IC or passport upon hotel check-in as well. Although in my case its more about the neighbourhood security rather than a big-brother-watching kind of deal. The registrations aren't centralized or anything, and in most cases, are never read again unless something happened in the neighbourhood.

volgo 9y ago

Ya no fan of totalitarian policy, but if you try to skirt immigration laws anywhere, it won't work out well for you. Here in the U.S., I have to notify ICE everytime I change my address.], or I would be deported. Never had the courage to test them...

BrainInAJar 9y ago
> Here in the U.S., I have to notify ICE everytime I change my address Yeah, like OP said, "totalitarian shithole"
- REEEEISTtard 9y ago
  Reeeee
DrJokepu 9y ago
You have to notify the USCIS, not ICE.
- volgo 9y ago
  Yep my bad. Should be USCIS

schuke 9y ago

When I first went to the UK in 2004 as a student they had the same regulation. Register with local police within something like 7 days. Though this later turned out to be not very strictly enforced.

ekianjo 9y ago

> democratic countries like Japan To be fair, Japan has only existed as a functioning democracy for a very, very short time, and it still keeps a number of aspects from its previous past as a feudal/centrally governed country.

garmaine 9y ago
There are many democracies younger than Japan.
- ekianjo 9y ago
  Yes, basically all the ones coming from the decolonization era. Most of them are pretty unstable, unfortunately.
barry-cotter 9y ago
Japan has been a functioning democracy for longer than any state outside of Western Europe or the Western European settler colonies. It had a functioning but fragile democracy from shortly after the beginning of the Meiji period until it ended after the Great Depression. That places it on company with Germany and Italy. Could you expand on the aspects you think are remnantis of its past? The Imperial Family and Household are not mentioned in the constitution and there’s no aristocracy. I’m sure it’s dominated by Tokyo and the national government but it seems unlikely to be more centralised than England, or the U.K., tout court.

sandworm101 9y ago

Not just china. A few years back I flew from Vancouver to the RSA convention in SF. I was so put off by the hotel that had been booked for me that I didn't check in. That night I got a call on my cellphone from ICE as I had not checked in at the hotel I had listed on my entrance form. Nothing came of it. But they do check on these things.

refurb 9y ago
How did they get your car home number? They typically don't ask for it on customs forms.
- sandworm101 9y ago
  Not sure. I think they called the first hotel. I come in and out of the US all the time for work and was once a student there. I assume they have some sort of immigration file on me that probably has various contact details.

griffinheart 9y ago

I live in Japan for quite some time (multiple years) and never had to, or heard about, having to "register at local police station".

Larrikin 9y ago
Yea, I think maybe he is confusing having to always have your passport/gaijin card on you to present to police anytime they feel like bothering you.
titanix2 9y ago
It’s not at the police station but you still have to register at the ward office when you’re moving to a new city. Also as a "fun" fact, residence cards features the logo of the ministry of justice. Just like if all foreigners were criminal with such a high probability that this minister handle the matter from the beginning.
- griffinheart 9y ago
  Sure, also because you're going to pay taxes into that ku (city), and they deal with pension and health insurance, even if you're not a foreigner you're going to have to register. Your residence card gets updated every time you change your address and you do have to go to the ward office for them to update it, but that's hardly "register at the police station". Edit: Most if not all the things we have to do, as foreigners, Japanese also have to do it. The big difference is we're required to have an updated/valid residence card (ID), while Japanese don't need to carry ID. I'm from Europe, and in my country everyone has an ID and is "required" to have it so I don't actually see the big deal, maybe I'm just uninformed.
  - rahimnathwani 9y ago
    "Most if not all the things we have to do, as foreigners, Japanese also have to do it." Chinese also have to register at the local police station when they move. It's not just for foreigners.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

AdamJacobMuller 9y ago

> This rule is clearly explained on the back of the immigration declaration form Is this in English/other languages, or just in Mandarin? The only part of this story that I find particularly egregious is the part where he was made to sign a form that was only in Mandarin.

PakG1 9y ago
Mandarin is the local rule of law language. All contracts I've ever signed that were dual language say that if any conflicts arise, the Chinese language contract will be the one used to settle the dispute. This is reasonable. You would not have immigration officers in the US telling people to sign documents written in Chinese, would you? For one thing, local officials would be unable to process those papers efficiently. Whether or not lawyers are present who can help ensure due process and explain to the person what's being signed is a completely separate matter from which language should be used. edit: comments below would cause me to change my thoughts, though I'll leave the above text unedited for history's sake.
- garmaine 9y ago
  > This is reasonable. You would not have immigration officers in the US telling people to sign documents written in Chinese, would you? Well they do, for the record, if you enter at the right port.
- ajdlinux 9y ago
  Australian immigration and customs officials will supply translations of the main forms for all the major European and Asian languages that travellers tend to speak and interpreters for cases where they're considering refusing clearance or cancelling a visa. I would expect most Western countries would have the ability to do that.
starky 9y ago
It is in English on the back of the immigration form. There is really no excuse for not knowing about it. As mentioned in the article, you don't need to worry about it if you stay in a proper hotel, only if you are staying at someone's residence.

geomark 9y ago

Thailand, where the author said he lives, also has a similar "register at local police station" rule. Even when you live full time in Thailand, if you stay overnight somewhere other than your normal residence you are supposed to report it. Or the hotel or homeowner is supposed to report it. Rarely enforced,except when it's time to make a another big show of cracking down on dirty foreigners making trouble in the country.

rveeblefetzer 9y ago
A friend got slapped with a fine over this. He's a foreign resident, and he changed hotels while on a trip. That information is bundled up and sent to the authorities, and they cross-checked him with the address he put on his travel form. Thousand baht fine. FWIW, I brought this same friend to the police station where I'm a registered resident in Shanghai, so he could stay with me on a 72-hour visa. At the airport, he was told that if he doesn't register and it's discovered, it could affect his ability to get a visa in the future. This was only a few months ago.

gumby 9y ago

France and Germany have the same rules for residents and for visitors France and some parts of Germany (e.g. Bayern last time I was there) require it. In the us for the past 15 years or so my ID has always been copied/scanned when staying in a hotel.

cylinder 9y ago

You have to declare where you are staying on the customs declaration card in the US and UK amongst other countries too.