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South China morning post
Chinese-Venezuelans desperate to extend their stay in China as authorities tighten rules on visa extensions
Time is running out for Liang Lintao and tens of thousands of other naturalized Venezuelans who returned to China in recent years, but may be forced to return to the troubled South American country when their visas expire, under new Chinese restrictions. In Venezuela for 24 years, Liang returned to his Chinese hometown of Enping, a county-level city in Guangdong province, just across the mainland border from Hong Kong. He is now among the roughly 30,000 Chinese-Venezuelans living in Enping, most of whom have returned in recent years as social unrest and hyperinflation took an ever-increasing toll on Venezuelans’ livelihoods. Liang thought it would be a short trip, a brief respite until the situation improved. But almost four years later, he remains stagnant, fearful of returning to a country that he considers his home, but also a very dangerous place. Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on great stories originating from China. The Chinese government had been complacent, even after Venezuela stopped issuing new passport booklets to its citizens in late 2017, citing a lack of materials needed to create them. Venezuelan passport holders, including those who had returned to China, were given the option to extend their existing passports, but everything changed on the afternoon of November 30, when the Chinese authorities suddenly stopped accepting the extension documents and they demanded that Venezuelans present new passports. Liang Lintao With Liang’s visa will expire next month, and since he is unable to obtain a new Venezuelan passport, the move could prevent us from receiving a visa from China. The 30,000 of us will have to stay longer illegally or leave China to return to a shattered Venezuela. him to stay legally in China. Beijing does not recognize dual citizenship, and any individual who obtains a second passport must renounce their Chinese citizenship. “It means that sooner or later, the 30,000 of us will have to stay longer illegally or leave China to return to a shattered country. Venezuela,” Liang said. “These people, including me, are facing the problem of expiration of passports, and once our passports expire, we will be stuck in the situation of not being able to renew our visas to stay in China. “as we are seeing a growing number of people’s bank accounts freeze shortly after their passports expire , in addition to having to pay a fine of up to 12,000 yuan (US $ 1,840) for staying longer. ”of Venezuela in Guangzhou, and Enping’s Office of Foreign Affairs and China Affairs Abroad, said they were aware of the situation involving the Chinese-Venezuelans in Enping and that they were in the process of liaising with the relevant departments. A request for comments sent by mail or email to the Venezuelan consulate was not answered immediately. Due to the difficulty in obtaining a new Venezuelan passport, many countries, including the United States, Canada, Spain, and several Latin American countries, have been accepting expired Venezuelan passports. Venezuela, Liang was considered an influential leader of the Chinese community. By his estimate, at least 60,000 people, with either Chinese or Venezuelan passports, have returned to China since 2014 as massive anti-government protests swept through the South American country. At its peak, Venezuela’s Chinese population was about 400,000 when Nicolás Maduro assumed the presidency. in 2013. Beijing still formally backs Maduro, who stayed in power for a second six-year term last year, even as the nation has been experiencing its worst economic crisis in history. Those who returned to China are dismayed and fearful at the idea of being forced to return to Venezuela, particularly as the country is still recovering from the coronavirus amid an extreme shortage of medical supplies, Liang said. Meanwhile, China has controlled the outbreak. “Every day more people are caught in the limbo of passport expiration,” Liang said, adding that he and others have been trying to seek help from the Chinese authorities through the media and the Venezuelan consulate in Guangzhou. But the group has not received any official response from entry and exit officials. He Qukian, a man in his sixties who has lived in Venezuela for more than 40 years, is among those who chose to stay there. But life has not been easy. “Whether they are in Enping or in Venezuela, most Chinese immigrants are struggling to make a living,” said He, who used to have seven grocery stores in Venezuela but has seen that number drop to five because of the current economic and political turmoil. “Most of the multinational companies have left the Venezuelan market, and a large percentage of the country’s daily needs and food depend on imports from China,” he said. “But our business is still struggling to survive due to hyperinflation and [coronavirus] blockade across the country. “Water and power outages are a normal part of daily life. Stores can only operate every two weeks and only for three hours a day. Due to the gasoline shortage, few locals can find transportation to the city center. Several state-owned factories, including producers of steel, oil, cement and automobiles, have closed all, and almost all of the projects supported by China, since construction. The first Iranian tanker arrives in Venezuela, starving for fuel, despite a warning from the United States. Over the past decade, China has loaned around $ 50 billion to Venezuela, and while Caracas has gradually paid off that debt with oil shipments, it still owes Beijing about $ 20 billion. Amid worsening economic conditions in Venezuela, Chinese immigrants are among those increasingly struggling to earn a living. Cherry Chen is among those who stayed in Venezuela for as long as she could, before fleeing the chaos of the country last year and returning to Enping. “Most of us are engaged in the business of trade with Venezuela. Inflation is so horrible in Venezuela that we have to rely on our bank accounts in China to transact through yuan, ”Chen said. The first Chinese immigrants from Enping arrived in Venezuela 160 years ago. Others followed, becoming merchants and restaurateurs and expanding into other trades besides mining. Mingo Zhong, who lived and worked in Venezuela for a decade before returning home to Enping in 2017, said that the majority of Chinese who return abroad are forty years or older and do not have a good education, so they it is difficult to live and work on the continent. The South American dream is simply gone Cherry Chen “While we stayed in Enping, most of us have invested money in small service companies while we wait for the situation in Venezuela to calm down,” he said. “Some are working as waiters and waitresses at local restaurants in the meantime.” Many are running out of savings and have to sell the properties they bought in Enping, “Zhong added.” The local economy in Enping has strong connections to the Venezuelan economy. During the good times in Venezuela, immigrants from China were among the richest buyers of high-end local real estate in the city. ”Enping’s gross domestic product was 18.691 billion yuan (US $ 2.86 billion) last year, a year-on-year increase of 4.9 percent, that did not reach the 5.5 percent target set by local authorities. “We feel we have no future in either China or Venezuela, and the younger generation dreams of moving to Shenzhen,” Chen lamented. “The dream South America is just gone. “More from the South China Morning Post: * President Maduro surrendered full control in Venezuela after the opposition boycotted the elections * Venezuela resumes direct oil shipments to China ap esar of US sanctions * Chinese tenants, landlords dismayed by Danke debacle after US listed company fails to pay, leading to evictions * Opposition leader Leopoldo López flees Venezuela to Spain * The US hits the Chinese company CEIEC with sanctions on Venezuela in the South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post, download our mobile application. 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