I'm hoping to travel to China as a tourist but I've been involved in free Tibet protests in London. Will that affect my visa application?

Only if someone wrote down your name and stored it on a list somewhere which is pretty unlikely unless you were a high profile protester. Of course you wouldn't want to draw attention to this on your visa application

You won't know for sure unless you apply and see what happens. I agree with tauphi that unless you were high-profile, and are on some sort of written list/database, or possibly on a bunch of photos of events they have on file, that you are probably OK. If you are of Tibetan origin/ethnicity/name, you possibly may be up for extra scrutiny. You should not mention on the visa application, any plans or intent to go to Tibet. Once you make it inside China, you can make arrangements to go there if you wish, after first apprising yourself of the restrictions on foreign tourists (who can't pass for local Chinese).

Did you see the New China News Agency camera focusing on you when you protest? If so, then you had it. I disagree with jiejie, you won't know for sure until you arrive in China.

Seriously, I wouldn't recommend you to visit Tibet if you haven't declared on your visa application. Otherwise you take the risk that never be allowed back them ever again.

Even though the Chinese are pretty much unrivaled in terms of surveillance camera practices (cameras are seemingly everywhere and I know a few people who have recovered stolen wallets/passports with their aid), I'd be shocked if they could match up a face in the protest crowd with a 5-year old passport photo.

Wrong on first bolding--if the Chinese have already had the OP pegged as a troublemaker, they'll deal with it by not giving a visa in the first place. They wouldn't wait for him to get inside the country.

Wrong on second bolding. Clearly you don't know squat about applying for a Chinese visa. Mentioning Tibet on your visa application will automatically get you rejected, unless you are travelling with a big prearranged group tour that has dealt with the prearrival formalities. The vast majority of people who travel independently to China/Tibet come to China first and then make the Tibet arrangements, including the required Tibet Travel Permit, in-country.

Is the OP planning to go to Tibet?

Just from the initial post, doesn't say that OP is planning to go, just was involved in political activity.

If OP's primary intention is to go to Tibet then you need to join a tour group. If you do not wish to by a part of a tour group then you need to do a go around which is to first go to China then apply from within China for a visitors permit to Tibet. (accesstibettour.com) or someother company can assist you to get the necessary paperwork.

If you had done any kind of preliminary research on this subject, you would know that mentioning Tibet on your China Visa Application would have your visa rejected. This means that on your initial application, mention you are wanting to see the sights, mention anything and everything or nothing if you prefer, EXCEPT do not mention Lahasa or Tibet. Once you obtain the visa, then be prepared to spend a few days in a major city as you wait for your Tibet visa application to be prepared. (I think 3 days but I can be wrong on this) Take the opportunity to enjoy Beijing, Shanghai or whatever other city you may want to see.

Shock Shock Shock!!!

You will be amazed at what the latest imagine technology coupled with superfast processor can do.

Isn't the U.K. in the leading edge of this field?

I now feel compelled to throw in the towel on this issue. My earlier assertion that the Chinese couldn't possibly do anything so high tech during the hour it takes them to issue visas these days was based on my experiences at Chinese consulates abroad and PSBs/border control in country. I simply have a hard time believing that people who have such a loose grasp of the policies they are charged with implementing are doing anything that sexy. That having been said, I have no idea: 1) what pops up when they scan my passport; and 2) what sort of background checks they conduct with my $140.

For what it's worth, whenever I enter the US in a California airport, I get the "back room" treatment because there is a wanted convict in California who shares my name. I caught a glimpse of the guy once when the agent wasn't looking and we couldn't look any different if we tried (different race, age, body style, etc). If the Chinese are so much more advanced in this area (keeping in mind that the US has thrown billions of dollars at its data mining efforts), I'd be a bit surprised.

Back on topic, I agree with all those who have advised the OP to refrain from waxing about his pro-Tibet activities in his visa ap.

What they want to see is another obligatory visit by the poor schmuck who is assigned to visit the factories. Gotta keep that Gravy Train Rolling.^

Hmm, like jiejie I totally disagree. Never mention Tibet on your visa application. After getting your visa, then you can proceed with getting your Tibet paperwork.

Since we're playing around here, China now has the fastest high speed train in the world, the fastest super computer, and many cooler electronic gadgets (like the touchscreen camera) than the US.

Now, as for security technology, I don't think it's a matter of inferior technology per se, as much as they don't care. Like you said, Chinese security for the most part is not very serious and besides, the risk to terrorists are a lot less than say the US. So all in all, I pretty much agree with you.

As for what pops up when they scan your PP, who knows. But with Xray scanners in the US now, I don't want to know anything about what pops up on screens.

Here's something about U.S. embassies in northern Europe keeping a surveillance tab on demonstrators.

http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2010...ng/#more-19586

There's a lot of unwarranted paranoia about this. Simply apply for the visa, do not mention Tibet on the form, and see what happens. Obviously don't book any expensive tickets etc until you have the visa in your passport, but I suspect no major problems in reality.

As others on here have said, once you have the visa then you don't have any worries at the airport. The whole point of the visa process is to avoid problems on arrival in China (though I would argue the biggest point of all is to make money).

There are serious overestimates here as to how far China is even remotely bothered about screening visa applications on pure political grounds. Clearly, if the OP has had a leadership role in pro-Tibet organisations, runs anti-China websites/Facebook pages, or done something like play a concert in Hyde Park in favour of the Dalai Lama, then there is a risk of rejection, but marching down Whitehall or Trafalgar Square with a few hundred others, or even demonstrating across the street from the Embassy, is highly highly unlikely to raise any issue at all.

The problems only really start if the OP actually starts causing trouble on the ground here. Unfurling a banner in Tianenmen Square or similar really would lead to them being blacklisted, as would associating with known dissidents in many cases.

To give an example, in 2008 the UK band Oasis got visas to come to Shanghai to play a stadium concert despite having played at Free Tibet events in Europe in the past. The visas only got withdrawn after local newspapers uncovered evidence, making officials uncomfortable.

I kinda feel that if someone is daft enough to even think about mentioning Tibet in the presence of anyone from China at all, let alone when dealing with the govt, then they deserve all they get. To a certain extent you also have to tread a little carefully around Taiwan. Certainly if I was asked I would certainly play dumb and say "isn't it part of China?".