Eric's Beijing Diary

Met a homeless guy from Africa today. Actually, he had come to my house last Sunday with someone else. He told me at that time that he was from Canada, but I was skeptical, because his speech was not Canadian. Yesterday he called and wanted to see me. Turns out he is from Nigeria, and came to China to look for work. I have seen this before (see 21 March 2004). When I first came to China, there was a guy from Nigeria who was hanging around the international church, begging foreigners for money to help him buy a black market visa. Nigeria has very high unemployment, although it has dropped quite a bit since that time (Early 2004). Lots of Africans come to China for opportunity, but the ones who actually find it are those who come here to study, and begin by developing very good Mandarin proficiency.

The guy I met today does not speak any Mandarin. He has a college degree, but does not have any specialized skills. He came here on a tourist visa which has since expired. That's not a good idea. You need a visa to get into China, but you also need a visa to get out. Your visa has to be current before you will be allowed exit.

China has a reputation these days. Everybody seems to think that China is overflowing with jobs. True, the economy here is growing, and economic growth does produce jobs. But it is really not a good idea to just show up. China is a controlled society. It is quite a bit different from the US in that respect. For single people with a definite reason for being here, that is a non issue. If you are a student and you have a student visa, or if you are employed and you have a work visa, then you will have complete freedom of movement (except for Tibet), and pretty much your choice of a place to live. But if you just show up, things can be pretty rough.