Australia's Foreign Minister Stephen Smith Tuesday called for clarification from Beijing on tough new visa restrictions imposed on Westerners in the run-up to the Olympics.
Speaking in Hong Kong, where thousands of expatriate business people who deal with companies in southern China have been affected, Smith called on China to explain the crackdown.
Without warning, China at the beginning of April suddenly stopped issuing multiple-entry visas to people travelling from Hong Kong, giving out only single and double entry visas instead.
Applicants have been asked to provide proof of hotel bookings and return tickets before visas are issued, and China has stopped issuing visas on the border as it did in some cases previously.
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