ByXinhuawritersYangDingdu, WangPanandLiuWanli
GUANGZHOU, Oct.5 (Xinhua) – Thestartingpointofanancienttraderoute, GuangdongparalleledEgypt Alexandriamorethan1, 500yearsagoastheworld twoterminalsfortradebetweenEastandWest. Initsheydayinthe8thCentury, anestimated200, 000foreignnationalslivedinthecity.
Butwiththisprofoundhistoryofexternalcontact, whyhastheprovincialcapitalofGuangzhoustruggledtocopewithforeignresidentsinmoderntimes? < br />
ThequestionhasbeenraisedbyacademicsandlawenforcersafteracrowdofAfricanexpatriatessurroundedalocalpolicestationinmasics shoesid-JulytoprotestapoliceoperationduringwhichseveralallegedAfricanoverstayerswereinjuredwhiletryingtoflee.
HuangShiding, directoroftheUrbanManagementInstituteoftheGuangzhouAcademyofSocialSciences, saysGuangzhouhadnoexperiencetolearnfromotherChinesecitieswhenitcametodealwithoverstayersandillegalimmigrants.
“Wefeelithasstartedtotakeinagreatdealofforeignexpatriatesinrecentyears,” Huangsays.
Theinflux, localofficialsrecall , beganin2006whenBeijingSummitoftheForumonSino-AfricanCooperationwasheld, duringwhichPresidentHuJintaohostedheadsofstateandseniorofficialsfrom48AfricancountriesandsignaledChina intentiontodeepenSino-Africanrelations.
TheunparalleledappealofGuangzhou, comparedtootherChinesecities, toAfricanexpatriates, theysay, mightbeitsprosperouswholesalemarketsforlightproductsandsmallcommoditiesmanufacturedinthePearlRiverDelta.
Everyafternoon, aroundXiaobeiRoadandHuanshiRoad, manyAfricanscanbeseenshuttlingamongstorestohand-pickjeans, T-shirtsandothergarments, carryinghugeblackplasticbagsorgiantbackpacks .
AlthoughAfricaaccountsforjust5percentofGuangzhou annualforeigntrade, thecityhasseveraltradingcenterscateringtoAfricanmerchants, includingtheSino-AfricanTradingCenterinHuangshiRoadandtheTangqiClothingCenterinSanyuanli.
AlsothereareboutiquessellingAfricanattire, restaurantswithAfricancuisine, vendorssellingdiscountphonecardsforAfricanservicesandevenbarbershopswithAfricanhairstylists.
Officialstatisticsshowabout20, 000Africansliveinthecity, buttherealnumber, includingillegalimmigrantsandoverstayers, isbelievedtobemuchhigher .
MoLian, deputydirectoroftheDivisionofExitandEntryAdministrationunderGuangdongProvincialDepartmentofPublicSecurity, saysabout70percentoftheforeignnationalsdetainedlastyearinillegalimmigrantandoverstayerwerefromAfrica.Inthefirsthalfofthisyear, theproportionwas77percent.
“Ourinvestigationsshowmanyofthesepeoplehadnointentionofreturningthemomenttheyenteredthecity.Thishascausedamajorprobleminourmanagementofforeignnationals,” shesays.
OfficialssaymanyAfricanscomewithtouristvisasandinsufficientcashtosustaintheirstay.Somemanagetoacquirevisasthroughillegalagents.OthersenterGuangdongwithinvitationsissuedbypeoplefromotherprovincesandengageinactivitiesthathavenothingtodowithwhattheinvitationdescribed. < br />
Slackvisamanagementinsomecountriesfuelstheproblem, Mosays, assomeoverstayerswhowereblacklistedandrepatriatedreappearwithnewnamesandnewpassports.
“Nocountry lawsallowforeignnationalstooverstaytheirtouristvisasandseekillegalemployment. Intermsofforeignexpatriatemanagement, wetreatallequallywithoutdiscrimination,” shesays.
ButMoadmitsthatexitandentryadministrationhasevolvedintoa “noticeableproblem” intheeasterncoastwheretheeconomyisbetterdevelopedandwhereforeignresidentsandtemporaryinhabitantsarebothontherise.
InGuangdong, thepopulationofforeignresidentsstoodat57, 793andtemporaryinhabitantsat1.15millioninthefirsthalfofthisyear.Moreover, 30.4percent, or6.15million, offoreignersenterorleaveChinathroughGuangdongports.
LiuJingzhan, directorofthejudicialdepartmentofDengfengneighborhood, hometomorethan3, 000foreignresidents, saysthedifficultiestheyfaceoftenstemfromlanguagebarriers, anunfamiliarcultureanddifferentlegalframework.
“Foreignexpatriatesandlocalsneedtoadapttoeachotherinmanyways,” Liusays.
Nwaomu, aNigerianinhis30s, hasmarriedaChinesewomanandsetuphisownstallintheTangqiClothingCenter.Rainorshine, hegoestoclothesfactoriesinShahedistrictat6a.m.toreplenishstock, andthensendsttrendy mens clothinghegoodstohisbrotherinNigeriawherethepricesaredouble.Hisbrotherthenremitsbackhisportionoftheprofits.
NwaomuadmitsthatmanyAfricansinGuangdonghaveoverstayedtheirvisasorpurposelylosttheirpassports. “SomedonotwanttogobackeveniftheChinesepaidfortheirreturnticketbecausetheycanmakemoneyhere,” hesays.
AnotherNigerian, whotradesinearrings, declinestogivehisname.RecallinghisexperiencesintheUnitedKingdom, Kenya, TogoandKuwait, hesaysChinahasaverygoodbuscheap jordan shoesinessenvironmentandfewerlimits.
“TherearesomeAfricanoverstayersdoingbusinessillegally, buttherearealsolaw-abidingAfricanswhosenormalbusinessshouldnotbedisrupted,” hesays.
ManyAfricansworkinginGuangzhouworrythatlocalChinesemightstereotypethemas ” unacceptable. “Theconcernhassomefoundation.
ZhanJinfeng, aresidentofBaiyunDistrict, complainsthatsomeAfricansliketojumptheroadguardrails, butshyawayfromzebracrossings.” WeChinesedon liketowearperfumeastheydo, “headds.
SometaxidriversadmittryingtoavoidAfricancustomersbecausetheyfeartheforeignpassengerswillfailtopaythefare.
Seriouscasesofdrugtrafficking, robberyandtheftinvolvingforeignersareconstantlyinthenews .
“Wealsodislikethoseoverstayerswhoseekillegaljobshere, butthereisnothingwecando,” saysNwaomu.
Tomakearemedy, manydistributioncenters, includingtheTangqiClothingCenter, havesignedagreementswithAfricanvendors, requiringthemtoassistlocalpoliceindealingwithillegalimmigrantsandoverstayers.
HuangZhiquan, directoroftheYongpingPoliceStation, inBaiyunDistrict, says42criminalcasesinvolvingforeignperpetratorswerereportedintheareawithinhisjurisdictionin2007 . BetweenJanuaryandAugust, however, onlyonewasreported.
OuyangJiangxuan, anofficialwiththeForeignAffairsOfficeofGuangdongProvince, thinksillegalimmigrantsandoverstayersa “side-effectofglobalization.”
“ItisnotuniqueeitherinGuangdongorChina.Manydevelopedcountriesandregionsencountersimilarproblems.Ourpositionistoencouragealllegitimatebusinessexchanges, learnfromtheexperienceofothersandbetterprotectthelegitimateinterests, livesandassetsofforeignnationals,” hesays.Enditem < br />
(CheXiaohuifromGuangzhoualsocontributedtothereporting)