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Management of foreigners urged
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Winton Dong
DURING the spring festival vacation this year, a foreigner who took photos in the city's Xiasha Village was sent to the police station by villagers.
Local residents explained that the guy acted very suspiciously, wandering around and only taking pictures of ancient houses and temples.
Once they got involved, local police quickly realized the man was just a German tourist who wanted to take back some souvenir photos of distinctively Chinese buildings.
Most foreigners would feel it strange for people to think them suspicious just for doing what tourists do, but Chen Zhuoyu, who is in charge of foreign employment in the city's labour bureau, said the case actually represents a step forward, since local residents, when faced with what they considered to be a difficult situation, quickly referred the matter to the authorities.
Meanwhile, he pointed out that compared with some cities in Western nations, there is still much room for Shenzhen to further standardize its management of foreigners.
As early as in 1994, Shenzhen was authorized by the Central Government to manage foreigners and those people from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, who seek employment in the city.
According to statistics, nearly 20,000 people falling in the above-mentioned categories have registered with the city's labour bureau.
Such a large number makes their management, which involves the combined efforts of foreign affairs, public security and other bureaus, a daunting task.
Moreover, although forbidden by law, small hotels near the city's railway station still offer accommodation to foreigners who enter China illegally. Their non-co-operation with local government just makes things worse.
According to Chen, Shenzhen is considering organizing task forces to curb illegal entry, illegal residence and employment in the city.
Meanwhile, the effort to change not only the behaviour but perceptions of Shenzheners -- and their perceptions of foreigners -- goes on.
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