CNMI freezes hirings from China •Temporary ban may dash MVA plan to tap China tourism potential

Due to the refusal of the Beijing government to cooperate in accepting the return of its nationals deported from the commonwealth, the Northern Marianas has suspended indefinitely the issuance of entry permits to citizens of the People’s Republic of China.

This is the first time that the administration has taken a strong stance against the influx of Chinese nationals onto the islands whose growing presence in CNMI has worried both local and federal officials.

Majority of the illegal aliens deported by the Department of Labor and Immigration are Chinese who either lack skills to qualify for employment or necessary working permits.

In a memorandum issued December 16, Labor and Immigration Secretary Mark D. Zachares ordered officials and employees of his department to immediately cease from processing entry permits of nationals from mainland China.

Violators will face termination and criminal prosecution, said Zachares in a memorandum to Immigration and Labor processing, airport, LIIDS and resident directors of Tinian and Rota.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio was furnished with the copy of the memorandum, which virtually thumbs down plans of the Marianas Visitors Authority to tap PRC as an alternative market for tourists.

Well-placed sources from the administration said Washington officials rejected such proposal during Zachares’ meeting with the federal government recently.

With diminishing government revenues as a result of the sharp decline in tourists arrivals, MVA is hoping to capture the huge Chinese market to save the half-a-billion-dollar tourism industry , the backbone of the island economy.

However, Li Guofu, China’s consul general in Los Angeles who visited Saipan early this year, explained that the Northern Marianas is not listed as an authorized tourist destination for PROC nationals.

But droves of Chinese continue to flock to CNMI despite such policy by using other ports of entry in the hope of finding better employment in the commonwealth, a favorite job destination among impoverished Asians.

“The CNMI hereby discontinues issuance of entry permits to all nationals, citizens, subjects and residents of the People’s Republic of China,” Zachares said because Beijing continues to deny as well as delay accepting Chinese citizens who have been sent back by the commonwealth.

The new policy applies to tourists, businessmen, students and workers as well as to their immediate relatives.

However, Chinese from the mainland whose present status are legal in the Northern Marianas as well as those with valid Green Card and valid passport are not covered by the memorandum.

It also exempts replacement workers or new hirees for the Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association, which employs bulk of the Chinese workers in the islands.