When crossing the border at Shenzhen from mainland China to Hong Kong, the second part of that slogan is much more obvious. The queues on the China side were huge, with three separate channels for HK & Macau residents, Chinese citizens, and "Foreigners". Alone in my foreigners queue, I expected things to go fairly quickly since I was leaving the People's Republic well within the period allowed by my visa. But the officials seemed to check every page of every passport, carefully examine the photo and compare it with the face of the bearer, then check their computer records several times before stamping approval for exit. The queue for Chinese citizens moved much more quickly.
Then just when I thought it was safe to put my passport back into my secure travel pocket, around the corner was another set of signs dividing people into three categories: the Hong Kong immigration services. This time the relative speed of the queues was reversed: the "Foreigners" queue moved quite quickly and I got a 90-day visitor stamp on my passport. The Chinese people were subjected to detailed interrogation, had to prove they were just passing through (visa for a third country and flight tickets), and got a seven-day visitor stamp.
Then just when I thought it was safe to put my passport back into my secure travel pocket, around the corner was another set of signs dividing people into three categories: the Hong Kong immigration services. This time the relative speed of the queues was reversed: the "Foreigners" queue moved quite quickly and I got a 90-day visitor stamp on my passport. The Chinese people were subjected to detailed interrogation, had to prove they were just passing through (visa for a third country and flight tickets), and got a seven-day visitor stamp.
