The Embassy Strikes Back
An official rebuts the Mind Sport Zine’s story
Canada’s Beijing embassy disputes the basis for the Mind Sport Zine’s story on its refusal to grant visitor visas to the Chinese team visiting Canada. David Manicom, the manager of the non-immigrant visa section, expressed the embassy’s point of view in an email letter to Bill Brydon, received on Wednesday.
In the letter, Manicom takes issue with my decision to submit the story without first contacting the embassy (point taken). He says: "...there is little our office can do at this point to change the perceptions you have created." He goes on to say that about 75% of all visitor visa requests are approved, and explains the embassy’s fear of misrepresentation by potential visitors. He takes issue with my assertion that the standard refusal letter is "snotty". We are printing Mr. Manicom’s letter in full.
On Tuesday, a story on the exclusion appeared in the Edmonton Journal. This quotes Kan Ki CHIU, secretary of the Edmonton Chinese Chess Association as saying that the absence of the Chinese team knocked down attendance at the Canadian championships from 300 to 100. It quotes Edmonton team member, David Phung, as saying, "You know how here if you mention the name Gretzky you would know who he is, right? Over there, they’re like national icons. So they have every reason to go back."
According to the story, Edmonton club members want to know if the exclusions were a response to the current controversy surrounding illegal immigration. CHIU says, "Maybe they worry about that, but we have a very good history." But Lorna Tessier, a spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, is quoted as saying that recent smuggling cases "have not caused increased scrutiny of visitor visas". Both Manicom and Tessier say that they cannot discuss the details of the case without permission from the would-be visitors.
Manicom’s letter was a response to a letter by me inviting the embassy to give its side of the story. The letter included a list of questions about how the decision was made, whether it resulted from a change of policy, and what can be done to prevent a recurrence. The leaders of the Toronto and Edmonton clubs are studying Manicom’s letter, and have indicated to me that they want answers to these questions. Look for their responses in the Mind Sports Zine in a few days.
I’ve heard through the grape-vine that the Chinese team scored a perfect 10-0 in matches against San Francisco players. Together with their sweep of New York, this gives them a score of 14-0 against two of North America’s three strongest teams. It’s unlikely that Toronto would have done much better.
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