As of today, Monday, June 30, 2003, I am 100% legal in the People’s Republic of China. I now have an Alien Employment License, Foreigner Employment Permit, a Foreigner Residence Permit, and a multi-entry Z (work) visa. The residence permit and visa are valid for 2 years!!!

Look what I found on Slashdot: http://members.chello.nl/~s.ferris/

Well, it is my last day here in Hong Kong. My flight leave in just under 3 hours. This means, I need to go to the airport soon - sad but true. I went up to the Peak today. It rained quite a bit, but it was nice temperature-wise - but not very good for pictures due to low cloud coverage. Yesterday, I bought over HK$4500 worth of cosmetics for my friends back in Beijing.

You thought 6 hours to process a tourist visa for China was fast (back in April when we went to Chicago), how about 20 minutes for a work visa? Yeah, thats right, I got a work visa (Z) for China processed in just about 20 minutes here in Hong Kong. Here is the story… As you know from my previous posts, I was missing the invitation letter to get the visa.

Today, I went to the U.S. Consulate to get more pages put in my passport. This was a free service. It is rare to get something for free from the US Government. Of course, I did pay US$60 for the passport to begin with… It is soooooo humid here. It isn’t that hot, low 30’s (C), but the humidity is unbarable at times. I forgot how bad it gets here. That is one thing that is better about Beijing, it isn’t so humid.

Since I can’t do anything about my visa problem/issue right now, I decided to enjoy myself in this wonderful city. For instance: 1. Took the MTR to TST (in Kowloon) to take some pictures of the harbor. The skyline has changed since 1996, that is for sure. 2. I went to the movie theatres at Times Square and saw The Matrix Reloaded. Cost: HK$60 + however much I spent for a large diet coke and a medium pop-corn.