New Customs Procedures to Identify Foreigners in Japan

日本出臺新的入關(guān)規(guī)定

In a recently adopted security measure， Japan began fingerprinting and photographing foreigners coming into the country in an effort to crack down on terrorists. The move has elicited complaints from long-term residents， business people， and human rights campaigners who are complaining that the security measure unfairly targets non-Japanese. The new procedure involves electronic scanning of both index fingers and a digital photo of the face. Information about each visitor to the country will be checked against a list of about 800，000 names including Interpol suspects and people who have been deported from Japan in the past. Nearly all foreigners age 16 and over， including long-time residents， will be scanned. The only exceptions being made are for diplomats， government guests， and permanent residents such as Japan's Zainichi Korean population. Japan is only the second country after the United States to implement such measures. Tokyo has been a staunch supporter of the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and this has raised concerns that Japan could be a target of terrorist activity. These fears may have been exacerbated when reports emerged in May 2004 about Lionel Dumont， a French citizen with suspected links to Al Qaeda and a history of violent crime. He had entered Japan numerous times on a fake passport. Unlike the U.S.， which only checks foreign visitors， Japan is requiring that even foreigners living in Japan be checked each time they enter. This has angered many foreigners residing in Japan， particularly business people who claim that the added delay in entering the country provides incentive for them to move their operations to places like Hong Kong and Singapore where customs procedures are far less troublesome. (Sources: BBC， CNN)

為了打擊恐怖分子，日本出臺了新的安全規(guī)定，開始對入境的外國人采用指紋識別和照相的程序。該舉措導(dǎo)致了常駐日本居民的指責(zé)，商人和倡導(dǎo)人權(quán)的人士紛紛譴責(zé)該舉措是對非日本公民的不公。新的規(guī)定包括了電子掃描指紋和臉部照相。任何入境的人都要接受檢查，以識別入境之人是否是國際刑警所追蹤的罪犯和被日本驅(qū)逐的80萬人之一。幾乎每個16歲左右的外國人（包括長期住戶）都要接受掃描。唯一例外的是外交官、政府貴客以及諸如擁有永久居住權(quán)的在日韓裔。日本是繼美國后的第二個采取該舉措的國家。東京一向支持美國入侵阿富汗和伊拉克，該規(guī)定的頒布讓人擔(dān)心日本很可能成為恐怖分子的目標(biāo)。而一個關(guān)于2004年5月一名被懷疑和基地組織有關(guān)并可能有犯罪記錄的法國人的報告也讓這種擔(dān)憂加劇。據(jù)報道，該法國人以假名數(shù)次進(jìn)入日本。和美國只針對法國游客的規(guī)定不同，日本對每個入關(guān)的外國人都要檢查，就算他居住在日本也不例外。這觸怒了很多居住在日本的外國人，尤其是外國商人，他們聲稱該項繁瑣的規(guī)定讓他們打算將生意移往香港和新加坡這些入關(guān)手續(xù)更簡單的地方。（源自：BBC和CNN）

China Reconsidering National Holiday Policy

中國重新審議黃金周政策

China is considering proposals to reform its state-controlled holiday system to ease travel pressures during the country's three week-long \"Golden Week\" holidays: The Lunar New Year， Labor Day (May 1)， and National Day (October 1). The proposals come amidst complaints of overbooked flights and hotel reservations， damage to historic and natural sites， and jam-packed facilities during the vacation seasons. As the country has become more prosperous， the Chinese have been traveling more on their vacations. The Chinese do not get to choose their own vacation time， however， but must adhere to the country's state-designated holidays. During these holidays， factories and offices often shut down， giving many workers rare vacation time. Because everybody has the same time off from work， much of the country's 1.3 billion people travel at around the same time， creating huge strains on transportation and accommodation facilities. The resulting public backlash is prompting the government to rethink its tightly regulated national holiday policy. Proposals have been made to cut down the May Labor Day holiday to one day and create three new one-day holidays during traditional celebrations such as grave-sweeping day， the dragon boat festival， and the mid-autumn festival. Some Chinese have hailed these measures as a boost for traditional culture， but others feel the changes do not go far enough. They call for the system to allow people to choose their own holidays. The three \"Golden Week\" holidays were originally designated week long holidays in 1999， when the government decided that longer vacations would encourage people to spend more money. Although travel spending has indeed shot up， reaching 64.2 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) during the 2007 October holiday， the resulting hordes of travelers and packed facilities have caused many middle-class Chinese to travel abroad. (Sources: CNN)

中國正在審議改革黃金周（春節(jié)、五一和國慶節(jié)）來緩解旅游壓力。黃金周引發(fā)的一系列諸如機(jī)票和旅館被超額訂購、名勝古跡和自然環(huán)境遭到破壞以及交通堵塞的問題讓該提議應(yīng)運而生。隨著綜合國力的提高，中國人假期出游越來越常見。但是，中國人無法自主選擇出游的時間只能按照國家指定的假期出游。然而，每個人的假期都相同，中國的13億人口同時出游讓交通和住宿極為緊張。這樣的結(jié)果導(dǎo)致政府重新審議黃金周制度。提議規(guī)定將五一假期減至1天，同時增加傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日的假期：清明節(jié)、端午節(jié)和中秋節(jié)各休一天。有些人認(rèn)為這樣的規(guī)定是對傳統(tǒng)文化的發(fā)揚(yáng)，但其他人則認(rèn)為這樣的規(guī)定解決不了什么問題，最好是可以自主選擇假期。3個黃金周的規(guī)定源自1999年，當(dāng)時是為了刺激經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展。雖然旅游的確刺激了經(jīng)濟(jì)的發(fā)展，2007年10月就創(chuàng)收了642億元（合86億美元），但蜂擁而至的游客和擁擠不堪的交通讓很多中國的中產(chǎn)階級開始出國旅游。（源自：CNN）