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Why am I getting stopped at the border to Shenzhen so often?

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  1. #1

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    Angry Why am I getting stopped at the border to Shenzhen so often?

    I'm an American studying overseas in Hong Kong, and I often go over the border to SZ to visit my girlfriend on weekends. Lately I've been getting stopped and pulled aside for "random checks", so I wanted to see if anybody else has this problem or to gain some insight as to why it's happening.


    A typical border crossing goes a little something like this:


    1. The border guards ask me if I have a Chinese name in Mandarin (my parents are Taiwanese, but I don't have a Chinese name on my birth certificate), to which I reply no.

    2. The border guards looks at my passport all confused and calls somebody over.

    3. They pull me aside and ask me to wait in a small room while they look at my passport and back at me multiple times.

    4. Without a word, they bring me back to the counter, and I'm free to go.


    So, has anybody else had this problem? It's been happening to me 2 or 3 times every month, and it's very frustrating to be treated this way. Any ideas why this is happening, or why they're asking me if I have a Chinese name?


  2. #2

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    Why don't you try asking them why they keep bothering you. I suspect that you are flagged in their system for some reason. Good Luck !


  3. #3

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    You're crossing from HK --> China, are Chinese, and don't have a Chinese name. That makes you pretty special and they can't check out your Chinese name in the computers if you don't have one, so they have to treat you like a gweilo.

    I suggest speaking English, loud and American, and play up the foreign aspect. They'll wave you off and curse your banananess. Try it and let me know if it works. lol

    Romeolo888 likes this.

  4. #4

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    That's actually what I do. I stopped playing their game a while ago. When they ask me what my Chinese name is, I respond with a loud and clear "What?" and they usually get the picture, but apparently it's not quite working out for me as of late. Just today when I asked in English what the problem was after I got pulled aside, I got ignored.

    Last edited by Gnash; 18-08-2017 at 11:07 PM.

  5. #5

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    I get asked that stupid question as well, Im a brown geezer with non chinese name carrying a Brit passport, I usually do the same, What, Eh, say What then they ask in English, u have Chinese name which I reply, I aint Chinese why would I have Chinese name. they just ignore me and then chop me through. thank fook I dont get taken into any rooms LOL

    misshappy26 likes this.

  6. #6

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    This the HK or the CN side? CN I guess...


  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by flameproof:
    This the HK or the CN side? CN I guess...
    CN side

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by jayinhongkong:
    You're crossing from HK --> China, are Chinese, and don't have a Chinese name. That makes you pretty special and they can't check out your Chinese name in the computers if you don't have one, so they have to treat you like a gweilo.

    I suggest speaking English, loud and American, and play up the foreign aspect. They'll wave you off and curse your banananess. Try it and let me know if it works. lol
    I have an Aussie Taiwanese friend who now lives in London has suffered this in the past. That is why he never travels there anymore. He speaks no Chinese, has his name in English on his ID and birth certificate. Mainlanders who have never lived outside of China mainland are like a dray horse when it comes to this. There are no grey areas, only black and white.

    To clarify further....his parents emigrated to Melbourne in about the late 1960s. My mate was born in 1972 Melbourne. Learnt Chinese as a youngster but as he grew older and went to school, only spoke English. My mate has no criminal record ( except for the time he was dressed feminine by Russian standards - he is a trannie by evening but is straight - arrested in some underground nightclub, spent a night in the lock up, paid 50 pounds to get out and the officer actually drove him back to his hostel. This was back in 2002.) but being Chinese looking, non Chinese lingo speaking can get you into trouble in an increasingly Maoist society...
    Last edited by Natfixit; 19-08-2017 at 03:01 AM.
    shri, spode, Tom007 and 1 others like this.

  9. #9

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    You are an American of Taiwanese heritage (is your place of birth listed in Taiwan on your passport?) . . . those are two political entities that are on poor terms with China. They could simply be fucking with you.

    shri, spode, Skyhook and 1 others like this.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gnash:
    That's actually what I do. I stopped playing their game a while ago. When they ask me what my Chinese name is, I respond with a loud and clear "What?" and they usually get the picture, but apparently it's not quite working out for me as of late. Just today when I asked in English what the problem was after I got pulled aside, I got ignored.
    Get your GF to spend the weekends with you in HK instead.
    Rob2020 likes this.

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