The Consulate

Two days ago I had to drive to San Francisco to pick up our single-entry tourist visas from the consulate of the People's Republic of China.

The consulate is housed in a large building at the corner of Laguna Street and Geary Boulevard, a short distance from St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral.  At the corner, behind police barricades which seem to have been set up specifically for them, were several Chinese women of middle age.  On top of the barricades some envelopes had been taped, and in the envelopes were a number of pamphlets.

One of the women was making some languid gestures with her arms which suggested tai chi movements.  The other women sat quietly on the curb.  One was eating her lunch. None of them made any effort to pass out pamphlets or to attract the attention of passers-by.  There were no banners protesting the treatment of Falun Gong members in China, nor any indication that Tibet was on the agenda, nor any sign of SFPD presence.  

The only security person in the neighborhood was a uniformed Caucasian man who was clearly on the consulate payroll who stood outside the entrance to the visa office directing the applicants to the various windows inside.  The applicants were so many that they had to stand out in the open on Geary Boulevard. There must have been well over fifty people in line.

Without having to join the queue, I was pointed in the direction of the pick-up window where a young woman accepted the receipts I proffered, checked them against her copies attached by rubber band to our passports, which she pulled from trays filled with passports beside her, accepted the cash (no checks or credit cards) for the visa fee, rubber-stamped my copies to show that the visas had been delivered, and without another word beckoned to the next person behind me in line to approach her window.

The consulate will not accept visa applications by mail, nor will it mail approved visas back to applicants.  The applicant has either to appear in person, or send a designated representative to deliver and pick up the documents.

The visas are valid for one entry into the PRC within the next three months.  They cost us $50 apiece.  And the consulate seems to be doing a land office business every single working day.