Entries from April 2008 ↓

15 years ago, I was in Kathmandu, Nepal when an Israeli traveler, who stayed in the same hotel, asked me this question: “As a Chinese, do you think Tibet should be part of China?” “Hmmm…they said Tibet has been part of China for thousands of years.” I was too young then to have thought critically about the issue. I didn’t know how to answer then and so just quoted something I heard, something the Chinese authorities and media have always said.   

Recently, there appeared a video on YouTube about Tibet, attracting millions of hits. The title says “Why Tibet was, is and always will be a part of China”. The arguments and “solid facts” claimed are all familiar to the Chinese. Among others, it claims that Tibet has been part of China since 1271, the Yuan Dynasty. Only that this time the arguments are put into English and made into a video for a wider world to see.

It seems that the world of China has remained static during those 15 intervening years and more, despite its economic ascendancy. Many people there have thought alike and the government has more or less been saying the same things to its people (such as quickly blaming the “Dalai Lama clique” for any protests and riots in Tibet).

My conversation with the Israeli traveler did not end there. The traveler then asked me: You said Tibet has been part of China since a certain point of time in history. But dating back is subjective, isn’t it? You can also say that dating back this and that point of time, Tibet was not part of China. Or, how much further can you date back so that you can assuredly claim that China has been part of China? History is long, you know.

15 years have passed and I still vividly remember the conversation. Since then I have been to Tibet, have cared more about the place and its people, and have travelled more, read more and listened more, to have formed my own view about Tibet.

Thanks my fellow traveler, though I can no longer recall your name.

To apply for a China visa in Macau, you can also go to the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in Macau, besides the China Travel Service (CTS) agent mentioned.

The advantage of applying for a visa here is that the fee is lower. But it also means that speed will be compromised. It normally takes three days to process a visa, regardless of the type of visa applied for. There is express service, but extra fee has to be paid.

Take one-entry China visa. CTS charges 210MOP, but you can have it the following day. If you go to the Office of Commissioner, you pay only 150MOP, but it will take 3 workings days before the visa is ready.

The good news is that the Office of the Commissioner has an English website to explain all the China visa matters.

Web: http://www.fmcoprc.gov.mo/eng/lsyw/default.htm
Add: No. 992, Avenida do Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues, Macau
Tel: (00853)7915126
Fax: (00853)7915102

Related:

Macau Visa

Multiple-entry China visas stopped

Since my post “Get a China visa in Macau” has been extremely popular and many questions have been raised about visa to Macau, I thought I would just do a write up on visa to Macau. 

The following countries’ citizens do not need a visa to visit Macau:

If your country is not on the list, you need a visa to enter Macau. You can apply for the visa at the border for a fee of MOP100 (about USD13), and you will be allowed to stay 30 days.

It is required that you have a valid passport, a return/onward flight ticket, and proof of funding during your stay (MOP500 per day) when you enter Macau.

Enquiries (immigration service office)：

email: sminfo@fsm.gov.mo ; phone：(853)28725488

Source of the above information: website of the Immigration Service Office of Macau Government (in Chinese and Portuguese only )