Who gave the country advice on the 144-hour transit visa exemption?

Looking at the recent acceleration of China's development from "defensive" to "offensive" in international public opinion, one of the most important reasons is that China's large-scale implementation of the 144-hour visa-free transit policy is producing unexpected results.

When this move came out, it was a surprise to raise a seat. The 144-hour transit visa-free policy not only greatly facilitates the experience of foreign tourists entering China, but also acts as a sharp scissors, cutting through the "information cocoon" built by western media with stereotypes and prejudices imposed on China.

On overseas social media, many foreign bloggers have exposed their travel Vlog in China. These real and vivid videos, like open windows, let netizens around the world see China's great rivers and mountains, customs and unique enthusiasm and tolerance. Many pictures and videos quickly became popular and became hot topics on international social media, and "China Travel" became the focus of attention for a time.

According to the latest data from the Immigration Bureau of China, the number of foreigners coming to China in the first quarter of this year has increased by an astonishing three times compared with the same period of last year, and the number of visa-free foreign tourists has surged by 266.1%. Behind this data is the great attraction of China tourism market and the strong charm of China culture. It shows that China has become the top punching country of global tourism culture.

The swarming of foreign tourists in China has not only brought unprecedented prosperity to China's tourism industry, but also established a more authentic, pluralistic and inclusive image of China in the world.

The wide implementation of this policy has been highly praised on the Internet. There is considerable public opinion that the 144-hour transit visa-free policy was proposed by Huo Qigang, a representative of the National People's Congress. The reason is that Huo Qigang submitted a proposal on optimizing the visa-free transit policy for overseas tourists in Guangdong during the National People's Congress in 2023.

In fact, the implementation of the 144-hour transit visa-free policy is not the suggestion of a single individual or organization, but the result of the joint promotion of relevant departments and institutions based on the strategic consideration of the country's opening up and promoting international exchanges and cooperation. The 144-hour transit visa-free policy was first implemented on January 30, 2016. At that time, in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and cities, the visa-free policy for foreigners in some countries was implemented for 144 hours.

During the specific implementation of this policy, some NPC deputies, Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference members and other people put forward relevant suggestions, which promoted the in-depth implementation and continuous optimization of this policy, and gradually expanded the scope of countries covered by the transit visa-free policy. At present, it has increased to 54 countries, and 20 cities in China have implemented 144-hour visa-free transit.

It can be said that Huo Qigang is one of the most important proponents and promoters of this policy.

On May 1, 2019, Guangdong Province officially implemented the 144-hour transit visa-free policy, covering people with valid international travel documents in 53 countries. After the epidemic, the policy was resumed, and Huo Qigang noticed some problems in its implementation. For example, it is difficult for mainland tour guides to receive passengers at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station, which restricts the use of high-speed rail by tour groups; The requirement of joining tour groups limits the types and number of tourists; Only tourists from more than 50 countries can benefit, and the coverage is not large enough.

In order to solve these problems, Huo Qigang put forward three suggestions: first, provide mainland tour guides with special work visas for West Kowloon and high-speed railway station; Second, under the premise of controllable risks, gradually open foreign free travellers to apply for 144-hour transit visa exemption; The third is to gradually increase the list of countries that have visa-free transit in Guangdong for 144 hours, and include the "Belt and Road" countries in the list of visa-free countries. These suggestions are aimed at further optimizing the transit visa-free policy, improving the convenience of foreigners entering and leaving Guangdong Province, and strengthening the cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong tourism industry.

Besides Huo Qigang, some people also put forward relevant suggestions and appeals. Take Xi 'an as an example. Yuan Jinglian, a member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, then a member of the Shaanxi Provincial Political Consultative Conference and deputy general manager of the Provincial Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Group, suggested that Xi 'an should implement the visa-free policy for foreigners crossing the border for 144 hours, which was positively responded by the then provincial party secretary, and finally promoted the implementation of this policy in Xi 'an.

Looking back now, the 144-hour visa-free transit policy is undoubtedly a trump card for China's external publicity, and it is also an important national conspiracy, which is cracking the international uglification and misunderstanding of China in a rapid way.

However, no matter how good the policy is, we must also see its possible disadvantages, so that we can enhance our worries, seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and prevent problems before they happen.

Never forget the past and learn from the future. In the 13th century AD, after Kyle Polo traveled in China, he wrote about The Travels of Marco Polo, describing in detail the prosperity and richness of ancient China at that time, including the richness of precious commodities such as spices, silk and porcelain, as well as the prosperity of the city and the convenience of transportation.

These descriptions have greatly aroused Europeans' yearning and greed for China, and made some European countries covet China's wealth and resources. This greedy mentality eventually laid the groundwork for the subsequent colonial aggression and plunder to a certain extent, such as Eight-Nation Alliance's invasion, which brought huge disasters and economic losses to China.

Similarly, although the highly open policy of the Tang Dynasty promoted cultural exchanges and economic development, it also made it easier for external forces to penetrate into the Tang Dynasty.

With the changes of the internal and external policies of the rulers of the Tang Dynasty and the development of social economy, the open policy has also led to more and more foreign invasion to some extent, which has brought troubles to the rule. The Anshi Rebellion led to the decline of the Tang Dynasty from prosperity, which was due to the fact that An Lushan, a mixed-race barbarian, was repeatedly used as a border guard, and the country was in a state of peril.

Although the implementation of the 144-hour transit visa-free policy is the initial result, and our opening-up policy is far from being in need of a callback, we still need to have a certain sense of prevention. Because, over-opening and over-closing are not good things, and these two extremes are not desirable.