SINA NEWS (China)
BEIJING - The capital of China wants you! (Or at least, may not kick you out quite so fast...)
Making that point, at least with a gesture, the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau has announced plans to allow foreigners to enter without a visa for 72 hours, Sina News is reporting. The director of the Beijing Public Bureau, Fu Chenghua, said the capital is in the midst of various opening-up measures to make the capital a more global city. The 72 hour visa-free entry is considered the symbolic centerpiece of this effort.
Currently, there are 200,000 foreigners living in Beijing. Among those just 721 hold a permanent resident permit. In light of this, Fu said that in order to implement the visa-free measure, Beijing will need to first create a better environment to safeguard the capital’s security and maintain order by monitoring foreigners.
Two weeks ago, the Beijing Public Bureau announced a “Hundred Days Special Action” from May 15th to the end of August, aiming to “clean up” the foreigners who have entered, stayed, and worked in the capital illegally. Fu stated that this special action was part of a normal policing activity, and similar to law enforcement behavior in all countries with the rule of law.
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