HaveYouGotYourChinese"GreenCard"!¥LAOFUAnewl andofopportunity,orsimplyaquietspotfromwhic honecansitandwatchtherestoftheworldgoby?Wha teverthereason,moreandmoreforeignersarenow" bullish"onlivinginChina.THEU.S.filmGreenCar dtellsthestoryofanimmigranttotheUnitedState swhoentersAmericanwomansothathecangainresid entstatus.Intheendheisdeportedbacktohishome countryanyway.Storiessimilartothisonearenow beginningtohappenmorefrequentlyinChina,ofal lplaces.Walkthroughanydowntowndistrictinabi gcityinChina,andyouwilllikelybumpintoatleas tseveralforeigners,manycarryingshoppingbags andtryingtofindabargaininadepartmentstoreor atastreetstall.Youwillcomeacrossotherscomin ginandoutofbusyhotels,andtheymighthaveaChin esespouseorsweetheartintow.Itseemsthatthese peopleareeverywhere.Accordingtostatistics,4 millionforeignerscametoChinain1992.Whileman yChineseareseekingtogoabroad,therearesomepe oplefromoverseaswhowouldverymuchliketosettl edownhere.TheChinesegovernmentisveryselecti veoftowhomitwillgranttherightofpermanentres idence.Manywould-beimmigrantsoftengotoaloto ftroubletoobtainaResidencePermit(theChinese versionoftheGreenCard).Afteralongwait,somef inallygettostayandsettledown,whileothershav etopackupandleavefornewsurroundings.Ivan,an automechanicservicingthelorriesandlimousine sofBeijing'sdiplomaticcommunity,marriedaChi nesewomanwhodidshiftsasawaitressinajointven turerestaurant.Thecouple,togetherwithIvan's father,livedinoneroomwithtwodoublebeds,onef orIvanandhiswife.theother,agiganticwoodenan tique,fortheoldman.Atnight,athickcurtainbet weenthetwobedsservedasascreen.AlthoughIvanh asmademanytripstotheForeigners'Administrati onDepartmentoftheBeijingMunicipalPublicSecu rityBureau,hehas,todate,beenunabletoobtaina ResidencePermit.Heisstilldetermined,however ,toliveinChina.Ashehastoldhiswife,"Lifehere isbetterthaninmycountry."Hecontinuestohopet hatonedayinthenearfuturehewilltrulybeableto callBeijinghishome.Jackson,aneditorforanEng lish-languagemagazine,decidedtosimplymarrya Chinesewoman.Althoughhehaddatedquiteabit.mo stofthewomenheencounteredonlywantedtobewine danddined,ortheywishedtoemigratefromChinawi thhishelp.Jackson'svisahadalmostexpiredbefo rehefinallyfoundtherightwoman,someonewhodid n'twanttogototheUnitedStates.Soonaftertheir marriage,JacksonhadhisResidencePermit.Marry ingaChineseisthemostcommonwaytogetresidents tatusinChina.Thesetypesofmarriageshaveincre asedyearbyyearallacrossthecountrp.Before,wh enaChinesemarriedsomeonefromoverseas.itwoul doftenbetoleaveChina;lately,however,moreand morepeopleareoptingtostayhere.Whywouldanyon efromoverseaswanttostayinChina?Thereasonsva ry.SomeliketheChineseculture,somethinktheyc anearnmoneymoreeasilyoverhere,whileotherswa nttoescapetheratraceintheWest.OneJapanesege ntlemanmarriedaChinesewomananddidn'tfindhim selfwantingtoreturntoJapan.Althoughhehadmad eacomfortablelivniginhishomeland,withanicea partmentandevennicerbankaccount,thesheereff orttosimplygetthatfarhadtakenitstoll,andheh adhadenoughofofficepoliticsandbackstabbingc o-workers.InBeijinghecouldfinallybecomforta bleandatease.PROBLEMSARISE,ofcourse,withthi snewwaveofimmiillegally.From1987to1992,30,0 00foreignersinChinachosetodoso;abouttwothir dsofthemhavebeentrackeddownanddeported.Many comefromtheimmediateregion,suchasVietnam,My anmar(formerlyBurma),Alghanistan,Pakistanan dRussia.OtherscomeinfromSriLanka,Iran,Ghana ,SomaliaandPoland.Manyimmigrantssneakacross theVietnameseandBurmesefrontiers,whileother scometoChinaonavalidvisabutthenoverstaythei rwelcome.Alotofthesepeoplefindjobsaslaborer s,small-timemerchantsorrefugees.Thelatterca nreceive300-400FECamonthundertheUNHCR(Unite dNationsHighCommissionerforRefugees).Theyfi ndapartmentsinacitysomewhere,andsomemanaget odobetterthantheydidintheiroldcountry.Somet imestheyevendobetterthanChinesewhodon'tmake ashighasalary,creatingnewtensions.Illegalal iensarestillanewprobleminChina,aresultofthe country'seconomicmodernizationoverthepast15 years.TheChinesegovernmentisnowtakingamoreactiveinterestinhowtosolvetheproblemofalienswhostayherewithouttheproperdocumentation.Valentine'sDaywithhisBritishwifeattheBeijingL
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