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Go to Last Entry for most recent posts. Some current events your spouse may be reading about. From the Sixth Tone - they arrived more than TWELVE hours before the check in time Netizens Debate Chinese Family’s ‘Mistreatment’ in Sweden China’s Foreign Ministry demands an explanation for why three tourists — whom some have dubbed ‘con artists’ — were removed from a hostel by police and dropped off at a cemetery. Apparently, the "cemetery" they were dumped at is "actually a metro station named Woodland Cemetery, according to an analysis of the incident by the journalist Jojje Olsson that cited reporting by the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. Mr. Olsson wrote that the station is within the city limits and fewer than six kilometers, or about 3.7 miles, from the Generator (hostel).", according to the NY Times See Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skogskyrkog%C3%A5rden_metro_station

Go to Last Entry for most recent posts. From the Wall Street Journal Offshore Yuan Demand Up as New Hong Kong Rule, Stock-Trading Link Rolled Out The stock connection between Hong Kong and Shanghai is referred to as a "stock market train", but I haven't really figured out what's involved there yet.

Explainer | Can I travel to mainland China? A guide to entry restrictions, documents, and vaccination and testing requirements China has a zero-tolerance approach to the coronavirus and closed its borders to most international travel Travellers to the country must meet a series of requirements This story has been made freely available to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Is everyone allowed to enter China? No, not at all. Very few foreigners are still able to return at the moment. Holiday travel to China is generally not allowed but people with special courtesy visas, such as government officials and diplomats travelling for personal reasons, can enter the country. Those from the same group travelling for official purposes on diplomatic and service visas are also allowed in. China has refused to let foreign students return to the country to resume their studies, and has stopped granting visas to international students except to those from South Korea following a visa agreement last year. Returning to China did NOT get any easier, and has likely become even harder because of China's ‘zero tolerance’ stand on Delta variant. However, it is still possible to enter the country for certain reasons. Mainland Chinese citizens can return home from overseas as long as they test negative for Covid-19 and obtain the health code required to verify this. Meanwhile, foreigners holding valid work, personal and family reunion residence permits are allowed to enter, as are those holding approved visa types such as air crew. Foreigners can also apply for visas for humanitarian and emergency reasons, such as visiting critically ill relatives or attending the funeral of an immediate family member. However, some visas require travellers to have been vaccinated with a Chinese vaccine. Flights from certain countries, such as Britain, Belgium and the Philippines, have at various times also been banned when cases surged in those places. Travellers are advised to check the Chinese embassy website in their country for the latest information. Recently various Chinese Embassies even announced pre-boarding quarantine and other measurements, including regular checks during personal health declaration, nucleic acid testing reports and other relevant files, and even require CT scan. Check out the overview below. What documents do I need? In addition to a valid visa or residence permit, you need to obtain a health code from a Chinese embassy or consulate before departure. To apply for the health code, travellers must submit a negative Covid-19 nucleic acid test result and antibody test online. Both have to be taken within 48 hours of the flight at a lab approved by the embassy or consulate. Travellers will also have to submit vaccination records, if any, and may also be asked to provide other supporting documents such as flight itineraries and proof of residence. They are also advised to take direct flights when available because Chinese embassies will decline to issue health codes to transit passengers if direct flights are available. For travellers with no direct flight to China, only one transit is allowed in general, and health codes are required from the embassy or consulate at the point of departure, and at the transit location. Travellers who were previously infected with Covid-19 also have to have a lung scan, undergo two nucleic acid tests 24 hours apart and do 14 days of self-quarantine before they can apply for a health code. Those coming from some high-risk countries, such as Britain, may also have to take an additional nucleic acid test. Are vaccinations required? Vaccinations are not a must, but those that have been fully vaccinated with a Chinese vaccine may be able to enter China for a wider range for personal matters such as to visit close family members, or to take care of elderly relatives. Those who have received other vaccines will not be able to enter China for these expanded reasons. However, they may have to take a different antibody test to obtain the health code to enter China. Most Chinese vaccines are inactivated vaccines, unlike other jabs such as the Moderna and BioNTech shots. Vaccinations may result in a positive result in the antibody test, and travellers who have been jabbed with non-inactivated vaccines may have to take a different antibody test to show that the result is due to the vaccine and not an active Covid-19 infection – a requirement not necessary for those who had inactivated vaccines. What happens when I arrive in China? Unless you are travelling on a “fast lane” arrangement that allows some essential travellers to skip quarantine (read: the top elite), you will generally have to undergo 14 to 21 days of quarantine. Pre-boarding Quarantine: More Embassies Join List Quarantine requirements vary among China’s provinces and cities. Beijing has some of the strictest, requiring travellers to undergo 14 days of quarantine at a designated location and seven days at home, followed by another seven days of health monitoring involving daily temperature and symptom reports. Some travellers from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, on the other hand, are allowed to spend half of their two-week isolation period at home. How can I get into China? Inbound travel options for China have been cut drastically. Air travel remains the main way of entering the country but international flights to the country are limited. In March last year, China restricted both foreign and Chinese carriers to just one weekly international passenger flight per airline. The civil aviation authority can suspend flights if there are a certain number of positive Covid-19 cases among a carrier’s passengers, although those rules have been eased this year. If between five and 10 passengers on a flight test positive for the coronavirus, the airline can choose to either suspend their operations for two weeks or continue operating at a maximum of 40 per cent capacity. Previously, they had to suspend operations for one week. China strengthened its control of its land border with Myanmar amid fears over the spread of the Delta variant, and completely closed its land border with Russia last year to contain a spike in cases entering the country from its northern neighbour. Source: SCMP Also check previous posts in the COVID-19 in China thread which may prove helpful Quarantine policies for inbound travelers to China http://candleforlove.com/forums/topic/50020-covid-19-in-china/?do=findComment&comment=647939 Airports Offering on-site PCR and IgM antibody testing facilities http://candleforlove.com/forums/topic/50020-covid-19-in-china/?do=findComment&comment=648001 . . . and 2 or three posts following.

An ongoing topic - click here for Most Recent Post "Ni de nainai shi bu hao (Your grandmother is no good)". We both stuck our tongues out at her and then felt much better.

An ongoing topic - click here for Most Recent Post You can bet that Taiwan watches events in Hong Kong VERY closely ARGUMENT China Really Isn’t Joking About Taiwan Beneath Beijing’s seemingly mild criticism of Trump’s phone call are currents of raw, public nationalism the government can’t control. from ForeignPolicy.com

An ongoing topic - click here for Most Recent Post from the SCMP Families of Wuhan pneumonia patients say they are being kept in the dark Relative of one of the 27 people affected by the mystery virus says doctors, hospital refuse to tell them anything Health authority in central China city says updates will be published online in due course The Wuhan seafood market at the centre of the pneumonia outbreak has been closed since Wednesday. Photo: Handout A Hong Kong woman was admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital on her return from Wuhan after displaying symptoms of an upper respiratory tract infection. Photo: Sam Tsang

It's just another bandwagon for China to jump on. If you haven’t discussed #ChatGPT in China, you have already fallen behind. The wave of chatting with artificial intelligence (AI) has blown up among zoomers. Launched at the end of November 2022, the number of monthly active users of the AI chat robot passed 100 million in just two months. In contrast, it took nine months for TikTok to draw 100 million monthly active users and two and a half years for Instagram. The race now is to be the first Chinese version of ChatGPT, leaving users wondering who will ultimately prevail in the final AI boom. China’s tech giants, such as Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, JD.com, and NetEase, have all entered the game. An AI race inspired by ChatGPT is in full swing. from China Pictorial on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/100063559089280/posts/pfbid0iT4bFfH12hWnZ1c2WAbhexq2kSSJU5aNkduPYD9QYSMSPSjFENAbujasSyhTh3nMl/?mibextid=Nif5oz

An ongoing topic - click here for Most Recent Post . . . is code for June 4 on the Weibos here in China Tales of Army Discord Show Tiananmen Square in a New Light

I think the Wuhan coronavirus has a firm toehold in the U. S. now and will spread and be managed in a North American way (a Chinese viral epidemic with American characteristics). For better or worse. I expect a surge in cases soon. But that will just be testing catching up with infections. That will be a good thing. Other than that, it’s sit and wait for me (now that we’ve stocked up on hand sanitizer). https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/28/3m-ramps-up-n95-respirator-production-amid-global-coronavirus-outbreak.html ”3M ramps up N95 respirator production as demand surges from global coronavirus outbreak” “To fill the surge in demand for the devices, particularly the N95 respirator, 3M is ramping up production In Aberdeen, South Dakota, more than 650 employees at one of 3M’s largest manufacturing facilities are working overtime to increase face mask production.” Good pic’s at this link: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/total-fing-anarchy-costco-shoppers-share-funnyscary-tales-of-preppers-getting-ready-for-a-coronavirus-outbreak-2020-03-02 ‘Total f***ing anarchy!’ Costco shoppers share funny/scary tales of preppers getting ready for a coronavirus outbreak The comments sections gave some color from the front lines: “Signs were up that they were out of toilet paper, paper towels and bottles of water. Even with that, inside people were stocking up on food, drinks... darn near everything it seems. Going up and down the aisles, seeing pallets empty and people loading up their carts... it was just surreal all the panic buying that is going on.” “It was total f**king anarchy.” “We sold out of toilet paper yesterday, which hasn’t happened at our Costco in 30 years. It was a horrible day to work and I am dreading work today.” An ongoing topic - click here for Most Recent Post

Wonder if this means there will be limited international travel available soon. The quarantine is still a dealbreaker unless you are returning to China for a long stay: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3138852/chinese-city-guangzhou-build-giant-covid-19-quarantine-facility-5000

Hi, Does China require an American 10 year Q2 Chinese Visa holder who will be travelling to China, to fill out a form similar to the evus that is required for Chinese citizens to come into the US? Thanks!! Marc

new USCIS fee schedule, effective Oct. 2, 2020 from Politico Trump says he’ll ‘suspend immigration’ into the US It was not immediately clear when or how the order would be carried out Neither is it clear if anything will come of this. Stay tuned.

These will apparently come from the IRS, based on your 2018 or 2019 tax return. If your Income was too low to require filing, you will need to file anyway. I have filed for an extension for my 2019 return, since my 2018 return has an address that is no longer valid (my mail forwarding service moved to NJ). The IRS will also be setting up a website where you can provide your direct deposit information, if they don't already have it. The refund will apparently come throughout the 2020 calendar year, so no hurry. I think you will even be able to claim it through your 2020 tax return. from the IRS - make a note of the 2 web sites I've provided links to here so you can check back later. Electronic impact payments: What you need to know

Hi, My wife is saying that there are new restrictions now in place for green card holders flying back from China to America. I know of the quarantine but she says many of her friends are saying they heard they need a letter of approval from USCIS to return? Any info on this would be appreciated. Thanks and be safe!

from China Daily COVID-19 test a must for all overseas flyers to China Tuesday, July 21, 2020, 15:25By Wang Keju A foreigner receives a nucleic acid test at a temporary inspection point in Shanghai on March 21, 2020. (GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY)

from the Sixth Tone Why China’s Cities Need Wet MarketsThey might make a convenient scapegoat, but wet markets are one of the pillars of Chinese urbanization.

Several case studies from the Sixth Tone Spousal Distancing: The Chinese Couples Divorcing Over COVID-19As China eases its virus-control policies, some couples are emerging stronger than ever. Others are sprinting straight to the divorce office. http://image5.sixthtone.com/image/5/25/836.jpg A couple walks out of the marriage registration office after finishing their divorce process in Shanghai, March 8, 2013. Zhang Xinyan for Sixth Tone

USCIS offices are temporarily closed to the public for "routine in-person services until at least April 1 to help slow the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)." USCIS Response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Thanks to Captain Ewok over at VJ

Anyone preparing for a potential "second wave" this fall/winter? I say that in quotes because it's questionable whether the first wave is really over. We're considering increasing our durable goods stockpile to 2 years, buying a second fridge/freezer, a couple of items of utilities outages (e.g. a few space heaters in case the gas goes out) and so on.

from the Sixth Tone The Silent Cries of China’s Depressed NetizensA student posted a digital suicide note. Thousands replied, shedding light on the lives of millions of Chinese living with depression. http://image5.sixthtone.com/image/5/20/206.jpg

from the SCMP Coronavirus: how to lower the risk of infection while flying – and remember, the air in aircraft cabins is much fresher than in your home or office If you are worried about catching the coronavirus on a flight, relax. Airliner cabin air is changed every two to three minutes, and an infected person has to be within a metre of you to pass it on – so pick a window seat. https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3050706/coronavirus-how-lower-risk-infection-while-flying-and?utm_content=article&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1581774193 Cabin air is changed every two to three minutes, that is 20 to 30 times every hour, according to Zhu Tao, deputy director of the flight standard department under China’s Civil Aviation Administration. At a news conference last month, he also noted that cabin ventilation systems are designed for vertical, not horizontal, air flow, which effectively reduces the risk of a virus spreading on a plane. This is because human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus is believed to occur mainly through droplets, which generally are not affected by air flowing through a space, so they fall fairly close to where they originate – usually within a metre. That is why the World Health Organisation defines “contact” with an infected passenger on a plane as having been seated within two to three rows of that person. The infection risk for those sitting outside that zone is much lower.

Flyover around Washington D.C. salutes healthcare workers fighting COVID-19Source:Xinhua Published: 2020/5/3 11:25:19 Look for a map in your local news showing the dates, times, and routes they will follow in your area.

from Forbes Watch Out For China Buying Spree, NATO Warns A container ship in the German city of Hamburg[-]March 26, 2020. China has major stakes in at least a half dozen EU ports. NATO warns: make sure China doesn't use pandemic to buy more strategic assets. (Photo by MORRIS MAC MATZEN / AFP) AFP via Getty Images

from Reuters China-Thailand coronavirus social media war escalates War of words and hashtags on Chinese platform Weibo resulted in more than 1.44 million posts and 4.64 billion views.

from the Shanghaiist With zoo closed to visitors, pandas finally bang after 10 years