Thu, 22 Jul 2004

Chinese tourist disappointed by illegal levies

I am Chinese. Indonesia and China are two great countries in Asia. This year I have had the chance to visit Indonesia twice. I'm entranced by Indonesia, with your life and your beautiful landscapes, especially Bali, which I am reminded of all the time.

However, one thing I found very disappointing was the behavior of your customs staff. In both visits, regardless of whether we were entering or departing, the staff asked for money from me and my friends. I'm positive they were national customs officers.

These officers represent Indonesia. They should not be allowed to behave in a way that damages the reputation of your country. After I came back, I talked to my friends about it and they all had similar experiences.

I hope The Jakarta Post reporters will conduct an investigation into this matter. If I'm wrong, I will apologize for this letter. If the situation is as I've described it, something must be done to fix this problem.

There are more and more Chinese and other foreigners visiting

Indonesia every year. It's not good to give foreigners this kind of impression.

LOGAN WANG Beijing-China