China criticism

In yesterday’s Travel supplement a writer who recently went on a cruise docking for one day in China, complained that it cost her $425 for a visa for her husband and herself. No doubt, like myself, she also had to have travel insurance, disclose a considerable amount of personal data about her immediate family and their occupations and provide an up to date copy of their private bank account balances.

And all that regardless as to whether she wanted to go ashore or not. But rather than show sympathy, your Travel editor came back with the snappy response that might be construed as saying: “don’t complain. Shanghai is a wonderful place to visit and is worth the inconvenience”. I very much doubt that New Zealand reciprocates by charging our Chinese visitors an equivalent amount or puts them to an equivalent amount of inconvenience.

But more importantly, am I to assume that it is no longer politically correct in New Zealand to criticise China in any way and that we are to be publicly reprimanded should we dare to do so?

Gerald Payman, Mt Albert.