China suspends port visas and visa-free transit for Japanese, South Koreans

The Chinese Embassy in Tokyo, photographed this Wednesday, January 11, 2023. AP - Kazushi Kurihara

Text by: RFI Follow

3 mins

After the suspension of short-term visas, Beijing is now announcing the suspension of port visas and visa-free transit for Japanese and South Koreans.

Retaliation measures for the health barriers imposed on travelers from China, faced with an unprecedented Covid wave.

Announcement applauded by some Chinese Internet users.

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With our correspondent in Beijing,

Stéphane Lagarde

It is again the argument of discrimination against the Chinese that comes up in these exchanges on social networks in China.

As in the spring of 2020, the commentators take up the language elements of the authorities.

A WeChat account, affiliated with a nationalist tabloid linked to

the People's Daily

, denounces entry restrictions in South Korea and PCR tests that " 

unfairly 

" target Chinese travelers,

reports the

South China Morning Post

.

Reviews and kudos on social networks

For the past two weeks, the criticism of the Chinese authorities against countries imposing health barriers has been repeated on a loop by the state media.

Proof of the success of the propaganda hype, the Beijingers questioned in the street went from "

it's normal

" after the blockade imposed at the Chinese borders for three years, to the

denunciation

of a supposed " 

spirit of revenge 

" of the " 

jealous of China

 ”.

Conversely, Internet users “like” the “ 

retaliatory

 ” measures announced by Beijing, which suspended short visas for Koreans and Japanese.

Various trending videos today showing how Chinese passengers received a warm welcome in Thailand and almost felt like celebrities.

pic.twitter.com/ehr2YAfCii

— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) January 10, 2023

Hearts and cheers!

also, under the videos of the arrival of Chinese tourists in Thailand, welcomed with flowers.

While other images show Chinese tourists going on a hunger strike against the quarantine imposed on positive travelers in Jeju Island, south of South Korea.

Transit visa suspension

On several occasions, Chinese diplomacy has warned countries that put in place restrictive measures against its nationals of the risk of “

 retaliation

 ”.

In the aftermath of

announcing

the suspension of short business, family and tourist visas for Japanese and South Korean citizens, Beijing also suspended port visas and its visa-free transit policy, which allowed visitors from both countries to stay in China up to six days.

The argument of the scientific or unscientific side of the filters at the entrance is defended by Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo.

The two northeast Asian neighbors are currently the only ones targeted by Chinese retaliatory measures, while other countries, particularly in Europe, impose a negative 48-hour PCR test on entry and home isolation. positive travellers, as China does.

Weight of videos and war of numbers.

Chinese networks quote a South Korean official as saying that 5.5% of travelers from China tested positive after landing in Seoul.

On Twitter, censored in China, others echo the words of the director of the Korean agency for disease control and prevention, according to which 80% of confirmed imported Covid cases in South Korea come from China.

Note that Tokyo has condemned Chinese measures described as " 

political

 ".

Switzerland, for its part, has decided not to introduce a test obligation for travelers from China.

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