BEIJING — It was a farewell dinner, Chinese-style.
A dozen people seated around a large table awkwardly picked up morsels of food from a revolving platter and sipped from tall bottles of room-temperature beer. There was a joyless quality to the evening as the dozen or so assembled guests, Britons, Canadians and Americans who had come to China to teach English, contemplated their imminent departure on account of visa restrictions.
"I tell them not to say they're being deported," said Diana Wan, manager of the Shane English School. "This is Chinese government policy. There is nothing we can do about it until after the Olympics."
As the Summer Olympics draw near, foreigners are discovering that the welcome mat they had expected is being abruptly rolled up. Thousands of foreigners have been kicked out before today's deadline as a result of tough new visa policies. Those forced to leave include nondiplomatic support staffers at embassies, migrant workers, freelance writers, artists and students.
Exactly how many foreigners must leave China remains unclear because the government has released minimal information about the changes in visa policy. About 110,000 foreigners are registered as Beijing residents, and about the same number are living and working in the capital with tourist, student or investor visas. Many of those visas expired at the end of June and will not be renewed.
At the same time, most Chinese embassies and consulates are no longer issuing visas with more than 30-day validity and prospective tourists now have to show hotel reservations, plane tickets and other documentation.
Among the persona non grata are many young Westerners attracted by low rents, a lively cafe and bar scene and the buzz of living behind the former Iron Curtain, qualities that made Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, an expatriate favorite last decade.
"We wanted to get into the way of life here," said 24-year-old Natan Doyon, who moved from Britain last year with his girlfriend to teach English to Chinese children. He says his pupils were so upset when he told them he couldn't renew his visa that they begged, "Don't go. We'll help you hide."
He and his girlfriend now plan to try Vietnam.
So many English teachers are being forced to leave that many of the private language schools, the rage lately for children of the upwardly mobile, are closing down for the summer. With only three native English speakers left on its staff, Shane is cutting its summer camp in half and might curtail its fall program. Shane, which is owned by a British chain, advertises that it provides native English speakers.
