Originally Posted by
West Coast Ace
I believe the price doubled (up to $100) since last yr. Not sure that's what you mean by 'reciprocity'... :-) The US has to worry about people showing up and not leaving - that's not the case on the other side (no matter what the PRC says - many would come and get lost in the US) - I'm happy to visit China and COME HOME!
I have no problem with some fee bump up before the Olympics - the doubling just seems excessive we already help their economic growth quite a bit. But it does show the Chinese are learning Capitalism.
And you are right - with the new one (high) price one can enjoy as many hops at desired - that's nice - but not for those of us doing just one entry.
To the OP: sorry for your predicament - I'm 50/50 on whether you should get compensation - mechanicals are tough. Would like to see 'holding areas' at major int'l airports so people could get off and walk around - not holding my breath...
Interesting on the compensation, I'll keep that in mind don't have my fingers crossed. I'll write a letter though, regardless.
Regarding the Chinese visas, actually it is pretty reciprocal - Chinese are charged extra (up to around $300) for a visa to the US. For countries that don't charge that amount China has lower rates; non-US nationals getting visas to China pay half the price that US citizens do. I end up going to China usually once a week and lived there for three years: the visa situation to the US for Chinese is pretty embarrassing as an American, no really any other way to slice it. Chinese citizens would like to visit no other country more than the US, yet it seems virtually impossible for non-business people to visit. The worst time was last year, when my friend in a small city about 300 miles from Shanghai got into Stanford. . .and couldn't get a visa to the US, no matter that Stanford vouched for her. For those who can afford the plane ticket to America there is a huge reason to return to China; China is growing at an insane rate and opportunities abound. I'm from San Francisco originally; the sentiment in Asia right now is akin to the 90s in Silicon Valley. Not using it as a predictor of some crash in the future, but just the excitement and feeling that anything is possible right now. China is hardly decoupled from the US, but it still has an extremely insulated capital markets and less than 40% of its growth is currently tied to US exports - a number that is increasing as US spending slows due to subprime and the housing crunch, the RMB appreciates against the dollar and labor/water/raw materials cost rise in China. Further, t he Eurozone just passed the US as the major area for exports for China. As the RMB appreciates against the dollar more and more people really want to just go spend money in the US and return, but conveniently we've nearly shut the door on all Chinese tourists. It's one of those things that I just shake my head at, not sure if others share my sentiment but it's painful to see from this side of the Pacific.