I am not going to take sides between the Japanese and the Chinese tensions. But I do not agree to the Chinese demonstrators who called Janpanese "pigs" and other name calling. My experiece with the Chinese, Japanese and South Korean immigrations, I must say honestly, the Japanese was the best, the Chinese was the worst. Here is my story to tell you why. Be aware of it. You may be the next, no matter if you are a Chinese majority, no matter where you have been. Just believe me.

I was not in good mood, the day of 08/13/2004, when I returned back China. When passing through the China Immigration at Beijing International Airport, I was picked out to take a blood test by the Custom Health Inspections. I have to wait on line to pay for the test. And then I have to wait on line to take blood test. I was wondering why I was picked up. Was it a random pick, or there were some reasons. Last time, on 03/04/04 when I went back China, I was picked up to take the blood test. Another traveler and I discussed with the inspector about the matter. We were told that any Chinese Citizens who stayed abroad for over three months would be randomly picked up at the airport to take a blood test upon return. We were also told that any such person, who had returned and had been blood tested within the last six months would be excluded from being picked up again upon return. So, I believed I should be excluded this time since I returned China within the six months.

While I was pointed to wait in a line, I tried to talk to an inspector who was doing the picking up in cooperation with passport inspections. But three security guards ordered me to wait on a line that was to pay for blood test fees. I said I had questions to ask. The security agents said I had to wait in line until my turn then to ask questions. I obeyed. When it came to my turn, I asked the question and demand to be excluded, the officer at the window said that was the matter to be decided by an inspector, not by her, for her job was just collecting fees. So I went off the line tried second time to reach the inspector. Again the security guards came to stop me. After hearing my explanation this time, one security guard called an inspector from the office. This person examined my passport, stared at me then said, ¡°You were in Japan. Right? So you have to take a blood test.¡± I did not understand what changes had been made since my last returning back to China, but I was not going to argue anymore. So I went back to the window, ready to pay the fee. At exactly I turned around to the window, I heard, at least not a low voice, one of the security guard said ¡°This girl must have been a whore in Japan.¡± As he said not in a low voice, people waiting in the line all turned their heads and stared at me. At that moment, I decided to fight.

I did not turned to the security guard for no security guards were decision makers. I asked for the health inspector again. I demanded a written document to show me that ¡°people came back from Japan¡± must take a blood test at the airport even that person had taken that test within the last six months. The inspector agreed. He ordered a security guard to fetch me a booklet, a thick booklet about 100 pages. He said the regulation regarding what he said was in the booklet. After he said so and gave me the booklet, all three security guards were laughed. ¡°Okay.¡± I said, ¡°I am not going to find it. I trust you. But you explain to me when the regulation was changed.¡± I said to the inspector. ¡°You find it out yourself. You asked for it. I gave what you wanted. So now you must find it in this book. Only after you found it out in this book, read it to me, I will allow you to get back in line to take the blood test. Or, you will not be admitted to the country. We have plenty of time. We are running 24 hours.¡±

I assumed it was not hard for me to find relevant passage in this book since on the Index, all titles were about pets, animals, cargos, foreign citizens, agricultural products, except only one title was about travelers. I turned to that page. It was short ran less than three pages. It said nothing at all about ¡°¡°people came back from Japan¡±. It did not even say anything about health inspections at the airport. What it said was only a one-line sentence that indicated ¡°Chinese Citizens who resided outside China for over three months, especially those seamen and laborers, are subjects for a AIDS and sex disease monitoring.¡± In another place, it said ¡°Chinese Citizens who resided outside China for over three months, must take a health inspection in a nearby health facility within a month of entry.¡± There is absolutely nothing about ¡°people return from Japan¡± or ¡°blood test at the airport¡±. Nothing about these matters in the booklet. I was about to give up when I was handed such a book by the inspector. But now I found I was handed a weapon to fight the inspector.

After found what I wanted, I asked to see the inspector again. He was too busy to see me. I was just left waiting outside the office. Nobody attended me for the matter. Security guards stood nearby watched over me. On lady passenger, who was in line with me before, after the blood test, she came over to advise me not to fight the officials for there would not be anything good for me. She said the airport just used excuses to collect money. It was a kind of extortion using government power. She said the blood would not be tested at all. She said there was no way to find out who was infected with AIDS, who was not, within a few minutes of the so-called ¡°test¡±. I did not think that much before. But, she was a kind person. I wish she could accompany me for a while. But security guards ordered her away. After security guards ordered her away, they moved me into an office to sit down.

It was more than one hour and a half past since the plane landed. It was more than an hour since I passed the passport inspection. I was starting to worry about my luggage. After about another hour left in the office alone, an officer, not identified which department he was with, asked me if I was ready to obey the order to take the blood test. I stood up, turned the booklet to the pages, and explained what I found and compared what I had just been told by the health inspector. That officer took the book, glanced over it, smiled, and asked about my education level. Then he said he did not believe that I wanted trouble. But I was too young to understand things. I should obey in the first place. He walked me out of the office, to the cashier¡¯s window (no more lines then), paid the fee, and took a blood test.

I was very tired then. I did not even have any strength left to fight anymore. I was anxious to leave the airport. I had friends wait for me at the exit. I had not yet seen my luggage. When I was looking around the luggage racks, a custom inspector came somewhere behind me. He asked for my passport and custom declaration form. He pointed to me the luggage left at the side against a pole should be mine. At the custom counter, they decided to thoroughly check my luggage. They did not ask questions. I did not say a word to them. When the custom officers were checking the luggage, two passport inspectors came over. They took my passport from the custom officer who held it, said to me to go with them.

In the immigration office, an officer asked his first question about where I got the passport, how long I have stayed in Japan, etc. Then he asked why I could not speak Mandarin Chinese language fluently since I was not living abroad for too long. I told them my native language was Korean, I was an ethnic Korean. The other officer commented that I thought I was special because I was an ethnic minority. Then the officer who did the talking to me commented that I thought I was special because I had been in Japan. Then the other officer said I needed to be re-educated, etc. I was irritated. I said being an ethnic Korean has nothing to do with what had happened between the health inspection and I. I said being living and studying in Japan probably had something to do to what I could not understand what the Chinese government are doing at the airport. I accused the health inspection, to the immigration officer, thought they were independent from each other, was extorting money, for there was no regulations said anything about a blood test of AIDS at the airport, and the blood test could not find AIDS infections within just a few minutes. Both of them listened. Both had a little smile on their face. So I felt they were friendlier. They said I could go. But they kept saying I should be re-educated and to adjust to the life and regulations in China. I ignored their comments.

After spent a few days in Beijing, I returned to Longjing, my home. On 08/23/2004, local agents posed as ¡°from the government¡± visited me at my home. They asked what happened to me at Beijing International Airport on the date of my arrival. They asked more questions about my trips and my life in Japan. On 08/27/2004, I was called to the neighborhood committee office, in a smelled like rarely used room, the two ¡°from the government¡± asked more questions. They specifically asked me my spending, life style in Japan. Finally I found they thought my address in Japan had a word ¡°Mansion¡±. After I explained that the ¡°Mansion¡± meant a nice apartment complex, which could had been considered ¡°luxury¡± in old days, but not ¡°luxury¡± at all by modern standards, they shift the focus away. Then they focused on telling me this and that about ¡°patriotism¡±, China¡¯s well developing economy and other achievements, etc. It was very boring. They seemed not going to end. I also noticed they had prepared notes when talking to me so. ¡°Is this a kind of re-education?¡± I asked. One person said, ¡°You may say so.¡± I asked ¡°Why to me?¡± The two persons looked at each other then one said, ¡°We were ordered to do so.¡± This time, I asked which government institution they were really belonged to. Both of them said they were from the office of ¡°United Front¡±, the office dealing with ¡°democratic parties¡±, religious control, ethnic minority affairs, Taiwan visitors and overseas Chinese. For me, as I heard when I was still a child, this office was also operating a spy network both in ethnic minorities, Taiwanese visitors and overseas Chinese.

I felt bad. I said to them I did not need to be re-educated. They said they were ordered to do so. They must complete four sessions with me. After that, they would decide if this should be continued or not. They said they would see me next time on 09/03/04. This was very strange to me. I asked some of other friends who were returned back China from Japan or South Korea. Nobody ever needed such re-education. I felt that I hated this more than just felt scared.

On 09/03/04, I did not go to the scheduled meeting with the two persons said from the ¡°United Front¡±. I turned off my cell phone that day. On 09/06/04, I received a call from one of them telling me that I would face consequences if I did not let them to do their job. On 09/09/04, a neighborhood committee officer knocked on my door and said that she thought I should follow what the government officials wanted me to do, although she was not told any details of why and what happened. She said I should ¡°behave¡±. Neighbors told me that on 09/14/04, a uniformed police and two officials in civilian clothes knocked the door of my home but nobody answered. After that day, I lived with my friend. I only returned home briefly at night. I did not believe they would try to arrest me. But I did not want to see them anymore.