The 7th Episode : Argue beside of submachine guns
[November, 1982 Guangzhou, China]
Arrived in China main land, at Guangzhou Baiyun International airport in China for transit to Guilin. All the procedure for entering into China was taken here and was to fly by a domestic flight to Guilin. Then later a big trouble broke out at the immigration, that was my first experience with foreign people.
We need to write all the articles of value in the official document, such as watch, camera, etc., that was also done on the departure at Japan. The discrepancy was checked out if those description was correct on their arrival and departure comparing with the actual articles they have with them. If some are missed in the document in spite of holding articles actually on the arrival, they are regarded as intending to be sold in China without applying/paying tax at the customs. And if some actual articles are missed in spite of being written in the document on the departure, they are regarded as being sold in China.
My first visit abroad, still more for sightseeing, so I wanted to take good photos as many as possible, that is one of my hobbies. I brought a camera and 3 lenses in a hard camera bag. Everything was of course listed in the document honestly. The inspection was clearly finished without any problem and I sat down in a restaurant where our tour people were to gather together after the inspection. We had much time for transit, while we were to have dinner there. But Mr. N hadn’t come yet after a while. He seemed to have a trouble at the inspection. Somebody said me “go there for him as you speak English” and went there. Mr. N didn’t understand the situation what happened, what was wrong as he didn’t know other than Japanese. What’s wrong? I asked the inspectors in English. And his reply was in Chinese, that I didn’t know at all. My English ability was not yet so enough at that time, but no way they knew Japanese.
There were some inspectors but nobody wasn’t to speak English. No one must’ve known. They explained the situation with gestures to have let me understand anyway. According to his explanation, Mr. N described a camera in the document but he didn’t have it with him. My god! Actually he had a small camera and asked me to keep it in my camera bag.
“It’s in my bag!” I said them. But nobody understood. I was to leave there to get my bag back here, when I was caught on the arm by another inspector asking where I go. He maybe said so in Chinese, I guessed. He didn’t let me go. I explained to the others but nobody understood. All the inspectors looked to be in military uniforms with submachine guns. They didn’t understand what I said, they didn’t let me go to take my bag, they had submachine guns… What could I do??? What were they going to do to us? Much cold sweat began to exude.
I spoke slowly and slowly with gestures to explain our situation. Then, at last they let me go to bring my bag back here, of course with my document. I had Mr. N’s small camera in my bag that was not described in my document. The inspector missed it. If it was detected, I was to be blamed as Mr. N. Or harder than him!?!? I forgot it completely and no doubtful on me.
They inspected again all the actual articles and documents for both of us and explained again with gestures. Then we two were released finally. It had already passed more than one hour. All tour members gathered together at the restaurant. Our president was also relieved to show his smile happily. Then he said let’s have dinner! Cheers! We all raised glasses filled with Chinese beer, Tsingtao.
Still now, there’s one mysterious thing. No record is in my passport for the visit of China. Nothing was stamped for each one in the strict Chinese regulation or something else was issued for the group tour?
