Rares Beuran: A Chinese News Editor

Li Jianhua has been editing his weekly newspaper, “The Chinese In Romania”
for the last several years from a modest apartment. During that that time he watched as Romania’s Chinese population, which began streaming into Romania in 1991, reached a peak of 20,000 immigrants around 1996 and 1997. Since then, corruption, bureaucracy and the market recession have driven more than 12,000 Chinese out of the country.
At present, around 7,000 remain and roughly 90% are involved in small business enterprises.
In the heady days of 1996/1997, the new immigrants dreamed of creating their own China Town. A Chinese company bought land just outside Bucharest, on the Giurgiu highway. Seven years later, the land is still deserted.
After 1997, business went into a downhill slide in Romania. The recession has changed Li Jianhua’s enthusiasm. “What I really like about Romania,” he says. “is the beautiful nature and clean air. There are not as many people as in China.” But Li tempers his enthusiasm when it comes to the pressures of living in the capital. “I hate Bucharest,” he says. “It is really dirty and it usually takes six months to fix a hole in the road.” Li’s vision of the future is even darker.
Although the Chinese who remain still find Romania profitable, their lives have never been easy. Most work from dusk till dawn at small retail stands. Frequently they find that their goods have been stolen even though the three or four locks on their storage room doors are still intact. Many have had their apartments robbed, while they were working in the market place. The police, who show remarkably little interest in this sort of crime, have yet to arrest anyone for breaking into a Chinese’s home. In the last year, according to Li Jianhua, attacks on Chinese coming home from work have become more numerous. Apart from crime, the greatest difficulty Chinese face is learning Romanian. Since most are unable to speak the language, relationships with Romanians tend to be rare. Most Chinese businessmen have at least one Romanian employee to help translate and sell goods.
For the Chinese that have just arrived in Bucharest for the first time, the holidays can be the most difficult. For example, on China’s National Day, most Chinese who are home can expect to get a week off. That doesn’t happen in Romania, where the Chinese are expected to continue working. They do get free days on Christmas and Easter because there are no shoppers then.
Fewer Chinese can drive
The latest obstacle facing the Chinese is a new regulation which will mean that Chinese-issued driver’s licences will no longer be recognised by Romanian authorities. Since most Chinese cannot speak Romanian, their chances of passing the Romanian examinations are practically nil.
250 properties left without owner
But the biggest fear of many Chinese is that their resident visas may not be renewed. Any Chinese who is refused a visa has only 15 days to sell his merchendise and property. That can mean having to find a buyer for his shop, apartment, and even land. In the last 10 months more than 250 Chinese have been refused renewals for their visas and many have had to abandon their belongings. The task of disposing of these possessions is entrusted to Romanian lawyers, who are supposed to send the money to China. The uncertainty has led many Chinese to reconsider their investments in real estate. Cash is preferrable if you may need to leave the country in 15 days.
LI JIANHUA thinks that if the working conditions in the sprawling Europa market, where many Chinese have their stalls on the outskirts of Bucharest, were better, the quality of the products might improve Until conditions do improve, many Chinese retailers are reduced to selling their goods on broken stands, surrounded by mud and garbage.
The Chinese Embassy protects human rights in Romania
The Romanian Police has been intensifying its raids into Chinese homes lately, and the Embassy of The People’s Republic of China is now urging Chinese nationals to call the Embassy immediately, when Romanian Police decide to raid a home. The Chinese are being encouraged to take the name and badge number of the policemen. But despite the embassy efforts, the future of the Chinese in Romania seems limited. Once Romania joins the European Union, it is likely to become even more difficult for the Chinese to get visas. For Romanians who have gradually become accustomed to buying less expensive products made in China, the bargains may soon vanish.