889

There goes my theory that maybe this was tit-for-tat against Americans because some Chinese bigshot was recently refused entry at JFK.

I seem to recall that in previous cases of refused entry, the traveller's been told the reason behind the refusal: it hasn't been treated like a big secret.

If the Chinese believe a single visit to Turkey for a few days six years ago marks a Westerner as a security risk meriting the enormous hassle of refused entry at Beijing, then the rationality of the entire entry process has to be questioned. It's that far beyond reasonable.

So if you're planning to visit China at the moment on TWOV, my strong advice would be, Don't.

(And yes, the U.S. has rules restricting visa-free entry if you've visited certain countries, but the rules are public and you can apply for a visa instead.)