Guilin, China. Airport Customs Discrimination

[BuckCedar]

I'm a GWM & I've just got back to Bangkok after 8 days in Yangshuo, China with my Thai boyfriend. After our flight to Guilin we stopped to fill in additional forms related to swine flu and proceeded to get our passports stamped. My boyfriend went ahead of me and after having every page of his passport checked by the female officer and then by an additional male officer he was glared at by the male officer & told to stand aside while his passport was taken to another room. After that, the female officer checked every page on my passport & asked me if we were together. I replied that we were. My passport was stamped & I went to wait with my boyfriend. After another 10 minutes the male officer returned with more glaring and handed my b/f's passport to the female officer to stamp and hand over. Even then there was more glaring and no explanation. We thought it was a bit of a joke until the next day when we met another GWM/Thai couple and were asked if we had been pulled aside at customs as they had. It was then that my b/f told me that when he applied for his visa at the Chinese embassy in Bangkok, there was a sign written in Thai stating that men with "long hair & make-up" would not be given a visa to China. My b/f is no Katoey or bar boy. We've been together fo five years. He's 29 and about to graduate with a PhD from Thammasat. So if you're going to China, be prepared.

[Sumarokov]

Well, really, imagine going to China in the first place! I refuse to even go to Tibet. I urge anyone thinking of going to China to go somewhere else. It is not as if there is a deficit of friendly, beautiful countries in the region!

[onni4me]

Well...who knows what they are after? A white male with an Asian might as well be suspected of drug smuggling or something similar dodgy business. Or maybe they were thinking that you were engaged in some sort of illegal working or whatever. I have plenty of stamps in my passport and sometimes been stopped for a very long examination of all the stamps and so on. I suppose they weren't checking empty pages? Sometimes Asians are quite racist towards other Asians, donno why but seems to be so.

Customs and immigration also have their own agenda and we might not be aware of all the things going on. Maybe they were looking for someone and your description matched their preinfo?

Gays should not always be seeing everything from the perspective of discrimination. There can very well be other explanations. As our Finnish president said - she has worked in Gay organisation before - some gays are demanding rights but at the same time they are the most untolerant against others.

What comes to that sign stating that long-haired men with make-up (or not) are not allowed...er...sounds like hearsay. Just could not imagine a rule like that. What could be interpreted as make-up? Facial cream?

China is a communist country and I remember the old Soviet which was a pain in the ass while entering and exiting. They have traditions, you know...

And what comes to immigration officials...I was served by one of the rudest individuals at the Helsinki airport on my way to Thailand. And that had nothing to do with me being gay.

[twschw]

Immigration officicers who glare...the horror of it

[Ijustwannateach]

While one hesitates to doubt potentially homophobic official positions, I believe China still has an actual law against homosexual acts/identifications/behaviours? So it is regrettable but if one chooses to go to China, you are rather inviting a certain official discrimination by default?

And, although one hesitates to stereotype, there are an unfortunate number of ladyboy-esque Thais who go abroad to ethnic-Chinese areas (Malaysia and Singapore, for instance) and seem to maintain themselves through prostitution; it doesn't do the more respectable group any favours.

Not trying to excuse them- but suggest OP votes with his feet.

[LaoPo]

While one hesitates to doubt potentially homophobic official positions, I believe China still has an actual law against homosexual acts/identifications/behaviours? So it is regrettable but if one chooses to go to China, you are rather inviting a certain official discrimination by default?

And, although one hesitates to stereotype, there are an unfortunate number of ladyboy-esque Thais who go abroad to ethnic-Chinese areas (Malaysia and Singapore, for instance) and seem to maintain themselves through prostitution; it doesn't do the more respectable group any favours.

Not trying to excuse them- but suggest OP votes with his feet.

No not anymore* and actually most urban Chinese are quite open and do not discriminate homo/bi-sexuality; they may have an odd look or so in rural areas but generally spoken it's ok.

I think the OP is overdoing the experience; it could well have been because of any other reason that the officials did a more detailed check than normal. Possible drugs for instance or minor faults in ID papers.

To call his experience (gay)-discrimination is absurd as they didn't wear any signs "I am gay" so I may assume.

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality...na#Modern_China

LaoPo

[flightcrew1]

I completely agree with Onni4me, Ijustwannateach, Ladpo and of course the sarcasim of twschw which made me laugh.

Boy friend and I have been in and out of China several times and Hong Kong many times with no problems including Guilin with no problems.

It was me who who was pulled over for further inspection in Beijing while the boyfriend sailed right through and I work for the airlines.

[Ijustwannateach]

Thanks, LaoPo- guess I'm behind the times reg. the law.

[alyx]

Hey

I have been traveling with my partner, for as long as we have been together (15 years), and that,everytime I went abroad.

I must say that I am always worried about the immigration (although we do both comply with every law in the book) but I can't help it;

So I always stay behind and follow the events in case something is asked by the immigration officers (well I have to come up and speak to them every single time we get to Europe, but not only there, mind you).

Being on the lookout seems to be working fine.

When we went to Shanghai a year or two ago, we split for some reason and I exited before.

I presented my documents for inspection (but it was after the passports were stamped).

I took some steps back and waited for my friend to exit when I saw a plain clothes offficer pointing at him and waiving to another uniformed officer in order to stop my partner.

They asked for the passport and adressed my friend in, what I deemed, an aggressive manner (but this was China after all). I stepped in.

The guys were surprised of my intervention and when they saw the type of tickets and the hotel's reservations we were holding, the officer smiled aplogically and let us through.

We were both wearing suits, short hair (well I am bald so let's say that I had very short hair) and no sign of us being together had given us away.

I guess they were looking for illegal workers.

I think that we are getting a bit paranoid but it eventually work out all right. It doesn't mean that China embraces "non official" couples (far from it) but immigration officers all around the world are doing their job by checking as many people as they can (profiling, profiling, profiling or is it location, location, location)

Shanghai was a great city to visit, great bargains (not for the high-end shopper as one doesn't get any refunds nor discounts) and if one sets aside the political background of this country I'd say it is worth a visit (mind you we only stayed in this big city and it was for a fortnight)

A bit off topic, but, if you really want to experience freedom (after one has cleared immigration and customs outbound and inbound), if you want to watch sunset, or the sunrise, walk hand in hand with the love of your life, without having to bear the dirty looks of the well thinkers around you, there is only one address (sorry I don't know the US so I couldn't compare) then go to Israel.

More specifically Tel Aviv. They definitly have some other thing on their minds than other people's businesses. We simply had the time of our lives.

It doesn't mean we will go back as there are plenty of countries (little time too) to visit, albeight they might not be as tolerant, but it is worth a visit (Please drop the political matters here too...)

[kevindk]

very well-said, Alyx. However, I believe your presumably high-class ( I assume from details of type of tickets..meaning not economy??) status did something on that fast incident. Imagine you were not in suit, not having premium type of tickets and neat hair style....

Btw, I've never been Israel but it sound quite tempting from your experience. Thanks Alyx for your sharing.

Kevin

Edited October 12, 2009 by kevindk

[alyx]

very well-said, Alyx. However, I believe your presumably high-class ( I assume from details of type of tickets..meaning not economy??) status did something on that fast incident. Imagine you were not in suit, not having premium type of tickets and neat hair style....

Btw, I've never been Israel but it sound quite tempting from your experience. Thanks Alyx for your sharing.

Kevin

hey Kevin

Sure the tickets and the reservations made the trick (actually I prefer to travel every other year comfortably than every 6 months or year on economy so I am sorry if I sounded pompous: I only save to get quality rather than quantity and don't we have everything we need in Thailand?) but I just meant to point out the fact that the dresscode was not what attracts the eagle eye of our dear immigration officers around the world

[kevindk]

Hey Alyx

I absolutely agree that the dress code was not the only thing that catches their eyes. I would say it is more than that. Why the hel_l on earth in this Eastern part, there is always discrimination , rich vs poor looking, local vs white people ( sorry for the word using).

And Alyx, I guess lots of members here in Thai Visa forum seem to oppose your quality-rather-than-quantity traveling philosophy ( and I'm among them hehe). But again, it's about personal preference. And I really doubt that you're not staying in Thai-land or this region, as there are so much tempting places we love to hang around. With that idea, we can never afford our temptation.

Fyi, I've not been in full-paid First class service since the first time I got chance getting on an aeroplane. How poor and sad I am! Maybe I need to rest and save money to get one as what you told, quality! (J/K)

Thanks again Alyx for your point of view.

Kevin

[alyx]

Hey Alyx

I absolutely agree that the dress code was not the only thing that catches their eyes. I would say it is more than that. Why the hel_l on earth in this Eastern part, there is always discrimination , rich vs poor looking, local vs white people ( sorry for the word using).

And Alyx, I guess lots of members here in Thai Visa forum seem to oppose your quality-rather-than-quantity traveling philosophy ( and I'm among them hehe). But again, it's about personal preference. And I really doubt that you're not staying in Thai-land or this region, as there are so much tempting places we love to hang around. With that idea, we can never afford our temptation.

Fyi, I've not been in full-paid First class service since the first time I got chance getting on an aeroplane. How poor and sad I am! Maybe I need to rest and save money to get one as what you told, quality! (J/K)

Thanks again Alyx for your point of view.

Kevin

[alyx]

Well

the best way to get on a 1st class would be to get Gulf Air (they've got the same fares as business on other airlines) just in case