It has been unclear since we have been here what activities would be restricted by the government leading up to the Olympics. There has been a lot of rumors over the months. Here is what we now understand:
- Visa restrictions were imposed a couple of months ago which has made it difficult to enter China. The government says they have only imposed the rules that were already in place.
- The police are stopping foreigners and checking for passports and visas. We have not experienced this but know co-workers and friends who have.
- The police started checking residency permits by going door-to-door to expat communities over a month ago.
- On July 1, half of the government cars were pulled off the road. We were impacted by that at work.
- Also on July 1, trucks with yellow tags (don't pass emission standards) are no longer allowed in the city of Beijing (that impacted our packing and moving schedule).
- Tomorrow the new travel ban takes place for private vehicles. Cars can only travel on odd-even days based on license plate number until Sep 20. As a result I will be riding my bike to work for the next two weeks.
- Heavy industry will shut down factories from July 20 to Sept 20.
- Government office hours have been reduced to 9 to 5 instead of 8:30 to 5:30 until Sep 20.
I sure hope this all works to reduce the pollution for the Olympics. Here are some pictures from Saturday at Jingshan Park, Coal Hill, Gaobeidian:
No comments:
Post a Comment