American lawyer James Zimmerman, a partner at Perkins Coie in Beijing, has worked in China for 24 years, and thought he was well enough to return in March after having heart surgery in San Diego over the Christmas holiday.
“The State Department needs to release another advisory that warns people that they might end up in central quarantine for 37 days, like me,” Zimmerman said in an email exchange today. “It’s not just a manageable 14 days. But given the lack of transparency of China’s policies, even the U.S. government is having a challenging time predicting the unpredictable.”
As with all registered foreign lawyers, I needed to return to Beijing to renew my one-year visa by April 30. If I didn’t get it renewed, it would be months before I could obtain an invitation letter and visa to get back. I also needed to return for ongoing client matters. As I continued to vent, I finally got them to provide me with just steamed vegetables and white rice. The food has improved given the intensity of my rants. They also moved me to a room that just went through renovations but the smell of new paint and glue is bothersome. They spray the hallways all day long with a cleaning solution and there is a constant smell of chlorine.
China has a tendency to pursue a path of big plans, grand schemes, and reactionary policies, without thinking that there may be a better way. No forecasting. No impact assessment. No analysis of the social and economic consequences. The Chinese government needs to do a better job of assessing the impact of policy decisions that affect the big picture issues.