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Make life easier for foreigners in China

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-01-20 10:26

Comment on "Call for more overseas talents"

If China really wants to attract overseas talent, it has to make it easier for foreigners to live in China for longer terms. Here are just a few suggestions:

1. Make it easier to get a visa. It is inconvenient to renew visas frequently.

2. Make education for foreign children affordable. Foreigners will not stick around too long if they are forced to leave their children in their home country.

Yet non-Chinese foreigners must send their children to an "international" school. The price? About 13,000 yuan per month for an elementary school child in most large Chinese cities. It is actually more expensive than university education in Canada or Australia. Imagine the cost for a family with two or three children.

3. Consider allowing them to bring in foreign domestic helpers. Foreigners who speak little or no Chinese absolutely must have some English speaking helpers at home. For example, most Chinese local baby sitters can't speak English, creating a very dangerous situation at home if things go wrong.

William on China Daily website