Foreigners arrested in pre-expo sweep

• Source: Global Times
• [00:57 February 20 2010]
• Comments

An 84-year-old woman poses for a photo on Thursday in front of the China Pavilion located at the Shanghai Expo venue. Many tourists from other cities flocked to the pavilion during the Spring Festival holiday. Photo: CFP

By Lin Meilian

Shanghai authorities have detained 11 foreign nationals as part of a special campaign targeting foreigners who overstayed or don't have a residence permit, a spokesman said Friday.

Six of the 11 overstayed while another five, mainly from Southeast Asian countries, were detained for performing in bars without the proper permits.

"As the Shanghai Expo approaches, we launched a half-month long campaign at the end of January to inspect foreigners living in the city," Gu Wen, an officer with Shanghai exit-entry administration bureau, said.

Among the 11 was a 32-year-old African man identified only as Kanu. He remained in China illegally for more than three years by putting his photo on a fake American passport.

He was stopped by police officers at a bar earlier this month and is expected to be deported.

"He said one of his friends in Guangzhou helped him tamper with an American passport simply by replacing the picture on the original one, which looks pretty unreal," Gu said.

According to regulations, foreigners over the age of 16 should always carry their passports for inspection.

According to Gu, Kanu first came to Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province in 2006, a city that is home to over 20,000 Africans.