AUGUST 2020 Health Code App for Foreigners
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CHINESE CHURCH SUPPORT MINISTRIES CHINA PRAYER LETTER AUGUST 2020 Health Code App for Foreigners Even though a normalcy has returned to most aspects of life in China after COVID-19, some residues of the pandemic’s safety checks and controls remain in place and it seems people accept them as being here to stay. For those that want to access public transport, hotels, shops, restaurants, supermarkets, residential compounds or other public In locations, there are mandatory requirements this to check temperatures and use health apps, or scan QR codes to prove travel history. issue Many locations are also increasingly requiring Health Code App use of ‘health kit code’ apps to demonstrate a for Foreigners person's health condition and travel history. Ngari Prefecture After their initial introduction, health – In Transition apps were quickly updated to allow users to query the health status Ngari Tibetan Relocations of young or elderly family Eziza's Choice members who could not use The Long Walk Seeking to serve, strengthen and support the church and the people of China smartphones. Soon after, a version of whereabouts for the last 14 days and the app came out allowing foreigners whether you’ve had any COVID-19 to also use the app by logging in symptoms. with their passport. However, some foreigners could not register using a The Health Code Traveller Version health app apparently because their app, and its mini programs, offer an English names were too long. English-language interface and the same color-code system as used by On July 1, 2020, China released a Health Chinese locals. Green means you are Code app designed for foreigners living allowed to travel or enter public places, within China and for international yellow means you need to isolate for visitors. Officially called the ‘Health 7 days and red requires 14 days of Code Traveller Version,’ the app, with isolation. its Alipay and WeChat Mini Apps, offers foreign travellers a convenient Different cities and provinces issue way to submit health information, such their own codes, therefore in order to as travel history, COVID test results, get that desirable 'green code' that says and health symptoms. you are okay to travel in a particular region, you first need to apply for that This foreigner-specific version has the location. You can apply from within ability to recognize foreign names. All your app but in some situations, it the user needs to do to register is enter can take a day or two to be approved. their passport number, scan a picture In addition, some locations require of their passport, and answer a few travellers to undergo a COVID-19 test. questions, which will include your Ngari Prefecture – In Transition Shiquanhe is the largest city in the vast winter Ngari Prefecture which lies in Tibet’s in far west. Some may know of Shiquanhe Shiquanhe City by its English name "Ali". The Ngari commonly reaching prefecture covers a vast area (304,683 minus 20°C (-4° F). The average km2) but has a sparse population altitude here is 4,500 meters (14,760 of only 95,465. The climate ft.) above sea level. Since 1993, a large is described as arid portion of Ngari Prefecture has been Email CCSM at and windy, included in the Changtang Nature with a Reserve 羌塘国家级自然保护区, an [email protected] to area which, in its entirety, is nearly find out what we have on offer. 2 the size of Spain! The reserve has been home to only a few Tibetan nomads expanded over time and was upgraded and various park staff hired to prevent to a "National Protected Area" in April poaching. 2000 by the Chinese Government. It is currently listed as an IUCN Category: In the last decade, this remote part of VI - Managed Resource Protected China has become significantly more Area. accessible. An asphalt highway has been completed traversing Tibet from Conservation work in the reserve has east to west. It brings an increase in been rewarded with an increase in economic opportunity. No longer is the Tibetan antelope, wild yak, wild ass, journey from Lhasa in Eastern Tibet to Himalayan blue sheep, Mongolian Shiquanhe in the west, a bone-jarring, gazelle, snow leopards, pika, Tibetan teeth-shattering 3-4 day (nonstop) wolves, Turkestan lynx and Tibetan test of endurance in a 4-wheel drive blue bears among other species. But vehicle. Now it only takes 20 hours, Ngari Prefecture – In Transition Changtang Nature Reserve is now yet most travellers would opt to break International Short-Term Email CCSM at Teams [email protected] to find out what we have on offer. 3 up the journey, or rather simply take applied for, on behalf of the travellers, a two-hour flight from Lhasa - a civil by a tourist agency. They will need an airport was opened in 2010 at Gunsa Alien’s Travel Permit, a Border Pass (Kunsa) close to Shiquanhe. and a Military Permit as well. From Shiquanhe, the G219 National Religion in Tibet suffers many Highway (the Tibet-Xinjiang Highway) restrictions, yet it still plays a large continues north, passing through the part in attracting tourists to the region. Aksai Chin (territory disputed by Mount Kailash, in Ngari Prefecture, India and China) and over spectacular is a mountain as yet unclimbed. mountains into Xinjiang Province It is considered sacred by Hindus, where the road links with the Pakistan Buddhists and Jains. According to Friendship Highway, a vital component Hindu traditions immersion in one of of the China Pakistan Economic two holy lakes south of Mount Kailas Corridor (CPEC). is thought to release people from their sins for a lifetime. Pilgrims who trek China has invested heavily in building to the top of Dolma Pass are believed highspeed rail into Tibet’s capital to undergo a symbolic death, entering city, Lhasa from Qinghai, as well as the realm of the Lord of the Dead, to a top-quality highway from Yunnan be born again as they reach the top of and a trade route to Kathmandu in the pass. neighbouring Nepal. The way is now paved for the world to come to Tibet There are no known Christians in the but the gates have not yet been thrown Ngari Prefecture, and currently there open. All foreigners must have permits are few to no opportunities for them to travel in Tibet and these must be to hear. Ngari Tibetan Relocations The people of north western Tibet’s yak herdsmen Ngari Prefecture are known as Ngari or in the cold and Changtang (Northern Plain) Tibetans. arid conditions. The With an average altitude of over 4500 land there is not suitable metres, Ngari Prefecture is known as for arable farming so the nomads "the ridge of the roof of the world". traded for items they could not obtain from their livestock or from hunting. Almost all Ngari Tibetans were Traditionally Buddhist monasteries traditionally nomads, surviving as also played a large part in society but 4 during the Cultural Revolution (1966- 1976) ten of the 13 monasteries in the region were demolished. Over the last two decades the government has enacted a campaign across China to settle its millions of nomads, particularly from zones it has designated as fragile or overgrazed ecosystems. The remaining Ngari nomads and poor outlying communities have also been offered relocation under Xi Jinping’s Poverty Alleviation scheme. A high percentage of Ngari’s rural population have been identified as living under China’s extreme poverty line and therefore qualify for assistance. The aim is to give these citizens access to earthquake safe housing, roads, amenities, communications, health million people. When they move, care and education. In 2018 in an they are registered with a bank card interview on China’s CGTN digital so that any payments allocated to news, He Bin, an official from the the households are transparent and Ngari Prefecture Development and embezzlement is made very difficult. Reform Commission, reported that Those moved from their land for 700 families were being relocated conservation reasons are offered eco- into the Kangle residential area in compensation for giving up their lands. Shiquanhe City. The new homes were Subsidised loans are also available to furnished, and families just needed to begin new enterprises. pay for utilities. According to official narratives, Kangle was just one of 30 planned relocations are not forced on families. relocation sites in the region. A total Norbu Dondrup, Tibet's Executive of 8,185 people from 2,225 families Vice Governor, explained that they were expected to be relocated to these have a large number of working sites. Across wider Tibet Autonomous groups and cadres working at grass Region, the numbers moved to new roots level to "guide thought" and help homes under the Poverty Alleviation the poor families in their decisions scheme comes to over a quarter of a to move. He also said, "We also 5 would not have had the benefits of city infrastructure, and their lives had been largely devoid of any technology or machinery. But as herders, they traditionally held a certain respect in Tibetan society and this respect can be diminished as they try to find work beside the more educated urban Tibetans. They find themselves needing to accept labouring, transport or unskilled service industry work. The Ngari Tibetan language is spoken over a vast area of western Tibet, but as with many other areas in China, reports are reaching CCSM that schools are no longer teaching in the local language. This will have a profound affect on the culture of Tibetans in the future. But provide them with job opportunities Chinese language skills and 15 years depending on their capabilities and of free education (including 3 years of skills after receiving training." State- preschool) will greatly broaden options owned factories have been opened in for this generation of Tibetan children.