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Old Sep 30, 2021 | 5:32 am
  #1006  
 
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Originally Posted by GloballyServiced
Was your buddy by chance involved in some other extracurricular activities or groups of people that could have led to this? I know China is intense but I don’t think they just draw names out of a hat and go raid 5 star service apartments. I think he must have been “referred”
Probably. I don't even disagree with the idea that he should have been tested. However, the problems I have with this are

1) Everyone with them at the time are forced to go to the police station to get tested
2) The act of getting tested takes a long time (overnight) where you must stay at the station and cannot return home
3) This random testing seems highly targeted to foreigners

I have not witnessed this to the same extent in Beijing, only Shanghai. My friend that went on a tinder date with this random girl also got raided and had to get tested (but he was clean). It seemed to get really bad in 2018. It also seems pretty unproductive to do things this way. They're going to chase after people.... 1 by 1? If they really wanted to bust people using drugs and have unequivocal evidence, they should just go to one of the many clubs (not sure what's replaced ASL in 2021, RIP) where people are openly using hard drugs. This does not make any sense to me at all.
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Old Sep 30, 2021 | 6:19 am
  #1007  
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https://olympics.com/ioc/news/olympi...ountermeasures

My read
  • Vaccinated athlete = no quarantine, remain in bubble, daily testing
  • Unvaccinated athlete = 3 week quarantine, probably just skip the games at that point
  • No spectators from outside China, basically confirmation of no border policy changes before Olympics
  • Spectators allowed if they live in China
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Old Sep 30, 2021 | 6:34 am
  #1008  
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Well can the general public buy tickets if you’re residing in Gina
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Old Sep 30, 2021 | 7:00 am
  #1009  
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Originally Posted by GloballyServiced
Well can the general public buy tickets if youre residing in Gina
more details in late October or December
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Old Oct 1, 2021 | 6:04 am
  #1010  
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-for-travelers
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/29/c...hnk/index.html

China is asking city governments to create specialized quarantine facilities that can house thousands of overseas arrivals, as the country continues to take a zero-tolerance approach to keeping out Covid-19.

Local authorities have until the end of October to convert or build the hubs, National Health Commission official Cui Gang told a briefing this week, with the requirement for at least 20 rooms for every 10,000 residents. The goal is to prevent the country’s quarantine facilities from becoming “scattered” and “disorganized,” Cui said.
The latest example: a $260 million, 5,000-room quarantine facility for incoming travelers set to open in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou in the coming days.
Comprised of rows of three-story buildings topped with gray roofs in traditional Chinese style, the massive complex spans an area the size of 46 football fields and took less than three months to be built from scratch on the outskirts of the city.It will replace designated hotels located throughout Guangzhou to quarantine Chinese and international travelers arriving from overseas -- a move aimed at reducing residents' exposure to imported cases.

Travelers will be transferred on buses directly from the airport, and confined to their rooms for at least two weeks. Each room is fitted with a video chat camera and an artificial intelligence-powered thermometer, with three meals a day delivered by robots -- all designed to minimize direct contact with staff members.

Medical staff will work for 28 days at the facility, go through a week of quarantine themselves, and another two weeks of home quarantine before they're allowed to go outside, an official
told the Guangzhou Daily newspaper.
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Old Oct 1, 2021 | 6:12 am
  #1011  
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Thanks for the news.
At this point, I'm not even sure whether it's good or bad omen regarding borders re-opening...
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Old Oct 1, 2021 | 6:16 am
  #1012  
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Originally Posted by maalloc
Thanks for the news.
At this point, I'm not even sure whether it's good or bad omen regarding borders re-opening...
Unfortunately I can only agree with you.

A random thought that I had is that these facilities are basically a prison. Do we know that every person who enters them ... actually leaves?
Would be a very convenient way to have someone disappear.
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Old Oct 1, 2021 | 7:15 am
  #1013  
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Originally Posted by gudugan
Unfortunately I can only agree with you.

A random thought that I had is that these facilities are basically a prison. Do we know that every person who enters them ... actually leaves?
Would be a very convenient way to have someone disappear.
That was my gut reaction, as well...somewhat supported by the following quote in the CNN article you posted:

"Facilities like this serve as a way to institutionalize the zero-tolerance strategy."

I previously thought the bar couldn't get any lower than forcing people to spend 14+ days in a 7 Days Inn.
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Old Oct 1, 2021 | 7:38 am
  #1014  
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That is about as sure-fire of a piece of evidence as you need to suggest that China isn’t opening up in years. Wow.

And a video camera to watch you crank yourself dry for 21 days.
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Last edited by GloballyServiced; Oct 1, 2021 at 7:52 am
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Old Oct 1, 2021 | 10:15 am
  #1015  
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Originally Posted by maalloc
Thanks for the news.
At this point, I'm not even sure whether it's good or bad omen regarding borders re-opening...
I guess it is a good omen for borders re-opening. But who would want to come other than a returning resident?

I have never lived in China but I was there 2-3 times per year, for 10 days to 2 weeks per stay. I have not been since October of 2019. No way I can or will go to quarantine for 2+ weeks before being able to start doing business.

I always went in April and October around the Canton Fair. I don't see any way April of 2022 happens. And I doubt October of 2022 happens. Maybe April of 2023? Maybe but highly questionable at this point.
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Old Oct 1, 2021 | 12:05 pm
  #1016  
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As the article alluded, while 5000 room facility sounds impressive, it can only handle one daily flight of about 250 passengers per flight where each passenger need to quanratine 21 days. There will be enough Chinese citizens returning from school/business/visit family abroad to fill them.
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Old Oct 1, 2021 | 12:27 pm
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Originally Posted by MW147
I guess it is a good omen for borders re-opening. But who would want to come other than a returning resident?

I have never lived in China but I was there 2-3 times per year, for 10 days to 2 weeks per stay. I have not been since October of 2019. No way I can or will go to quarantine for 2+ weeks before being able to start doing business.

I always went in April and October around the Canton Fair. I don't see any way April of 2022 happens. And I doubt October of 2022 happens. Maybe April of 2023? Maybe but highly questionable at this point.
CCP knows that quarantine is the pain point of travelers, business or leisure. It would be easy for them to fine-tune the number of days according to their willingness to let aliens in (see the circus of HK entry rules as an example)

I for one would consider 3-5 day quarantine for important business meeting, 7-10 days for reuniting with loved ones we all have our own threshold, but rules can change dramatically when immigration policies flip. Call me an optimistic, but I want to think these quarantine centers can be used for this purpose
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Old Oct 1, 2021 | 12:57 pm
  #1018  
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Originally Posted by moondog
That was my gut reaction, as well...somewhat supported by the following quote in the CNN article you posted:

"Facilities like this serve as a way to institutionalize the zero-tolerance strategy."

I previously thought the bar couldn't get any lower than forcing people to spend 14+ days in a 7 Days Inn.
It could be worse. Some cities now require as many as 90 days of monitoring.

Originally Posted by GloballyServiced
That is about as sure-fire of a piece of evidence as you need to suggest that China isnt opening up in years. Wow.

And a video camera to watch you crank yourself dry for 21 days.
Agreed.

China is not opening up in years. Maybe 2030?

Because the bigger CCP bosses 1) are scared of dying from COVID 2) use the pandemic as a way to solidify their power of control

Originally Posted by maalloc
CCP knows that quarantine is the pain point of travelers, business or leisure. It would be easy for them to fine-tune the number of days according to their willingness to let aliens in (see the circus of HK entry rules as an example)

I for one would consider 3-5 day quarantine for important business meeting, 7-10 days for reuniting with loved ones we all have our own threshold, but rules can change dramatically when immigration policies flip. Call me an optimistic, but I want to think these quarantine centers can be used for this purpose
I can live with 21 day quarantine. But not more than that.

I only hope that Shanghai won't increase the quarantine period under pressure from Beijing.
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Old Oct 1, 2021 | 6:31 pm
  #1019  
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Folks, I have been following this thread for a while now and have a question or three.

I'm a specialised UK engineer and have been working/training folks on and off in China for since 2002, for duration's up to 3 months on a M visa, which has now expired.

My last visit was December 2019, and the companies I support are in need of my assistance in person for technical training (basically fix the bloody things..as remote support gets lost in translation).

Have any of the posters (or friends) on here travelled to PRC do do breakdown repairs? If so how many hoops does one jump through.
Or any ideas how I go about getting a visa from the UK (all documents from my employer and our customer are understood).
My destination will be Tianjin, so UK-Beijing/Shanghai would be the routing.

Thanks for any input..Cheers!!

This year I had the pleasure of two weeks hotel isolation in Mumbai, so know whats expected.
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Old Oct 2, 2021 | 7:01 am
  #1020  
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The fact that you’re willing to go to India during covid says a lot about your ability to cope with the worst possible human conditions so a quarantine in shanghai should be a walk in the park. I think you’ll need to lean heavily on the company inviting you to provide guidance. The fact that your visa expired doesn’t matter you could have had a 100 year visa and it’s invalid after March 2020.
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