Editor’s note: this article was translated and edited from Wenxuecity.com. The article looks at the recent China visit of Watson Meng, founder of uncensored overseas news website Boxun. Meng visited China in May to attend the funeral of his recently deceased mother, and expressed surprise at being granted a visa so easily and quickly, especially given his status as a controversial character in the eyes of the Chinese authorities. Meng’s Boxun is based in America, and offers uncensored China-related news and blogs that often expose the latest scandals and corruption stories in China.   

In the eyes of the Chinese authorities, Watson Meng is a highly controversial character. Originally from Hebei Province, Meng graduated from Duke University with a master’s degree in electrical engineering in the nineties, after which he returned to China to work in several multinationals including Motorola and Unilever. Meng then moved to Durham, North Carolina in 2000 to set up Boxun, a Chinese language news and blogging website that allows the uncensored publishing of articles on the latest China-related scandals and corruption stories. Despite it being one of the most popular overseas Chinese language websites, Boxun is, of course, blocked in Mainland China and is repeatedly the target of cyber attacks from the Chinese authorities.

Recently, Meng returned to his hometown in Hebei to attend the funeral of his recently deceased mother. Given his status as a controversial figure, Meng’s visa obtaining process was surprisingly smooth and fast, and during his six-day stay in China he received no problems from the authorities.

“Very unexpected”

In an interview on May 14 (the day that he was set to return to the US), Watson Meng explained that after hearing that his mother was seriously ill, he immediately began making arrangements for a family travel visa. His visa arrived less than a week after his mother passed away. “This was very unexpected,” explained Meng. “In fact, I had very little hope that I would get a visa at all.” According to some exclusive news sources, it turned out that someone acted as a guarantor for Meng (likely a family member), which in turn led the authorities to approve his visa in a shorter space of time.  

Meng believes that his visa must have been approved by upper level authorities, as he found it very surprising that during his application he didn’t encounter any questions whatsoever regarding his visit. Even when he arrived at the airport in China, Meng also had little problems passing through customs. When he presented his passport to customs officers, he was asked to sit in a room for a few minutes after customs officers saw who he was. Officials then double-checked his documents, however he was soon given the green light and was allowed to enter the country without any problems. Meng explained that the fact that he was visiting for purely personal reasons made the process completely trouble-free. “My visit had nothing to do with work; it was entirely for personal reasons.”

Meng enjoys bother-free visit

After arriving, Meng went straight to his hometown of Baoding, Hebei, and spent six days there, during which he attended his mother’s funeral. “I’m pretty sure that no one was monitoring me during my stay in China. My hometown is pretty small and all I did was stay at home, tend to my mother’s tomb, and visit relatives,” explained Meng. He believes that he was granted such a trouble-free visit on the grounds of sympathy regarding his recent loss.

After not being back for 13 years, Meng was quick to notice the obvious changes that had come to Baoding. “Back then it was just a small county town. Now there are many high-rise buildings, and no one grows their own food anymore. It seems that the peoples’ incomes aren’t bad though, as many of the local farmers have all bought houses in the city.” On the surface, it seems to Meng that the quality of peoples’ lives has increased. Salaries are now higher, though of course the price of living in general has also increased.

Watson Meng believes that should he want to visit China again in the near future, it shouldn’t be too difficult given the fact that he already has this opening, though he is aware that many controversial overseas figures like him are less fortunate in their visa applications. However, Meng has no plans to return to China in the near future.

Source: Wenxuecity.com
 

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Keywords: Watson Meng boxun founder