Immigration rules revised for Chinese

JAKARTA (JP): The government has eased immigration regulations for Chinese travelers, who during the Soeharto regime faced discriminatory and complicated procedures.

"In general, the government has applied the same immigration regulations to Chinese nationals as those from other countries," immigration director general M. Mudakir announced following a ceremony to observe the office's 51st anniversary on Friday.

Mudakir said that since last Dec. 12, Chinese citizens would be allowed to enter Indonesia through any of the 114 immigration checkpoints across the country.

The government has also eased the complicated visa application procedures.

In the past, visa application for Chinese had to be approved by certain agents, such as the background check department and an interrelated department.

Previously, Chinese could only enter the country through five airports and five seaports: Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta, Polonia Airport in Medan, Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar, Djuanda Airport in Surabaya and Hang Nadim Airport in Batam, or Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta, Belawan Port in Medan, Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, Sekupang Port in Batam and Banda Bentan Telani Port in Bintan.

Asked about the possibility of providing free-visa facilities for Chinese, Mudakir said they would have to apply for visas and follow the same procedures like many other foreigners.

The New Order government discriminated against the Chinese as diplomatic ties between the two countries were frozen shortly after the failed 1965 coup, which was blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party. The relations resumed in 1990, but restrictions on Chinese travelers continued. President Abdurrahman Wahid visited China at the end of 1999, when he promised to remove the barriers for visa applicants.

While the discriminative immigration regulation has been repealed, Mudakir said that immigration authorities would improve its controls over and supervision of Chinese travelers.

Meanwhile, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the new government policy was a new challenge for the immigration directorate.

"The controls of and supervision over foreigners must be continuously improved, not only upon their entrance into the country, but also on all their activities during their presence here," Yusril said while addressing immigration officials at the anniversary ceremony.

Yusril warned that Indonesia was not a country that accepted immigrants, and therefore only foreigners who brought advantages and were not a threat to the country were welcome to stay here. (01)