Hong Kong timeline

[jayyvr]

I used to thought that way too. But now, after my incident with BC traffic police and the case below, I don't take this for granted:

Yes, Canada have laws but it doesn't mean that police officers enforce it and protects and respects everyone.

Well, I can say everywhere has bad apples, but at least Ward got damages for what's unjustly done to him. In China, expect 100x more suffering/mistreatment and no damages/recourse.

You are right about not taking anything for granted tho.

 

[jayyvr]

What difference does it make if the police 'thought' this Ward guy had a pie? There are laws in place to protect us against this kind of thing. That story is shocking and definitely a reminder that even though Canada is a good country, there are still instances when police abuse their power. Unlike China, though, at least you can go after them and sue. Try doing that in China and see what happens, or more aptly, what doesn't happen.

FS

Well said. I can say there's nothing like the Charter in Canada. The authorities in China are the Charter. Talk about protestors of poisonous milk powder, who either "disappeared" or declared "insane"... or a 2 year old who got run over twice by trucks....

 

[Fencesitter]

And we only hear a fraction of what is really happening in China. If you can read Chinese, you'd be shocked by all the things going on in the middle 'kingdom'. My wife tells me all kinds of stories she's read in the news or on weibo (Chinese twitter). This is a crazy place and definitely not a safe country to raise a child.

We are forced to import EVERYTHING for our son from New Zealand (milk formula - Karicare, all his food - Heinz and some other organic brands, etc...). The only food we give him from China are things like sweet potatoes or other vegetables, but we don't give those to him on a daily basis as we are so scared they have used some kind of chemical to wash them or something...It's very expensive to import everything, but our son's health is of paramount importance!!! We usually import enough to last him a few months. Even the clothing he wears...we only buy the best brands to ensure the quality is good and the clothes are safe and comfortable.

It will be great to be back in Canada where the worry over food safety is a lot less...though we still need to be vigilant...and it will be great to not have to pay for international shipping! Seriously, the food we buy costs around NZ$200 (lasts about 3 months)...but the shipping is triple that price...crazy...my colleagues think I am nuts for importing everything...I, in turn, think they are nuts for feeding their children food produced in China!

Even Hong Kong is not safe. I've heard in HK they sell 'fake' milk formula...nothing is safe in China, including HK...though HK is probably a lot better than the mainland.

FS

 

[jayyvr]

Sigh, since most of the people in China are either so poor or greedy that they just want to make a few quick bucks and wouldn't care less if others are dead because of them. FS, I know a pretty good freight forwarding company in the US. Let me know if you need to import anything from there. It's pretty cheap compared to what you said. My relatives only import as well for their babies.

Even for myself, I just can't maintain my normal standard. I'm lactose intolerant and lactose-free milk is nowhere to be found in China. I hate to travel all the way to HK just for a few cartons of UHT lactose free milk, which according to my experience can only be purchased at Pacific Place's supermarket. How hard can it be to drink some fresh milk? It is this hard. My relatives wouldn't understand, as they have adjusted their expectations or standards throughout their life. Whenever something bad happens, they conditioned their brain to tell it is ok or it is understandable or normal.

........!!! China is definitely not for me!


ps. Let's celebrate Canada Day today!!

 

[mobeyk]

Lets not talk of food safety. I have been farming organic the last decade and know of whats going on with food safety in Canada. Genetic modified food is a huge risk and cause of problems in US and Canada. Many do not know about the risks and there is a big chemical companies lobby that pushes government into allowing these frankenstein foods. Only safe food you can have is the one you grow yourself leaving out environmental pollution issues. Food safety issues are not on the public radar as the thick blanket of regulations makes things look safe. Just pointing to the deaths due to bacteria infected meat plants, the high cancer rates and the overall state of obesity in North America. Too big of a can of worms to be discussed here.
Nowhere is perfect and everywhere there are problems. If we concentrate on the bad we see the bad, even here in Canada. I personally started to look for the good and have gratitude for the good things that exist, no matter where I am. China has a turbulent history and managing such a mass of people is not easy. At the end it depends on the individual person who decides where they want to live. I always would prefer Canada, but its easy for me to say so as I never had a home country as a child with mixed cultural background. Canada is home for those who have lost "home". I know my wife never intended to move outside China and she is ok with China, her home country, knowing of all the good and bad. She comes to Canada out of love, knowing I cannot move as my children are here in Canada. It is obvious that the good outweigh the bad by far in Canada and nobody would hesitate to move to Canada if given a choice.
Good luck to you all to reach your goals and find peace wherever you choose to.

 

[Fencesitter]

I think I will take food safety in Canada over the non-existent food safety in China any day of the week.

Yes, people are out of shape back in North America, but China is catching up real fast!

Still, I will continue to import from New Zealand. What would you consider safer for your infant child, food made in China, or food made in New Zealand? A no-brainer...

You make a good point about organic farming, and it's something I will consider when we move back. My folks have about an acre of land in the backyard, so we might ask to use some of it to grow our own vegetables.

FS

 

[Fencesitter]

Sigh, since most of the people in China are either so poor or greedy that they just want to make a few quick bucks and wouldn't care less if others are dead because of them. FS, I know a pretty good freight forwarding company in the US. Let me know if you need to import anything from there. It's pretty cheap compared to what you said. My relatives only import as well for their babies.

Even for myself, I just can't maintain my normal standard. I'm lactose intolerant and lactose-free milk is nowhere to be found in China. I hate to travel all the way to HK just for a few cartons of UHT lactose free milk, which according to my experience can only be purchased at Pacific Place's supermarket. How hard can it be to drink some fresh milk? It is this hard. My relatives wouldn't understand, as they have adjusted their expectations or standards throughout their life. Whenever something bad happens, they conditioned their brain to tell it is ok or it is understandable or normal.

........!!! China is definitely not for me!


ps. Let's celebrate Canada Day today!!

Thanks. We are using a really cheap and reliable freight forwarder out of NZ. We order so much, that the weight, even with the cheapest shipping company, is still expensive...and it would be even more expensive if we were importing from the US. Hopefully we only need to continue this for half a year or so, but even if it's longer, we will continue. Our son is thriving, so for us that's all that matters...and like a friend of mine once said, you can never put a $ value to your child's health!!! Ain't that the truth!

FS

 

[jayyvr]

Thanks. We are using a really cheap and reliable freight forwarder out of NZ. We order so much, that the weight, even with the cheapest shipping company, is still expensive...and it would be even more expensive if we were importing from the US. Hopefully we only need to continue this for half a year or so, but even if it's longer, we will continue. Our son is thriving, so for us that's all that matters...and like a friend of mine once said, you can never put a $ value to your child's health!!! Ain't that the truth!

FS

I totally agree. Health and safety are the basics that the parents should provide.

 

[Fencesitter]

What blows my mind is how some of my colleagues think I am wasting money and being foolish by importing. Perhaps they are just jealous and realize that I am ensuring my son gets the best possible start at life. Not sure, but it's very surprising that people would trust or even take a chance with their child's health. After that 2008 milk scandal, my wife and I both agreed that we would never feed our child anything produced in the mainland (with the exception of sweet potatoes and some other vegetables, though we only feed him these items 1-3 times per week, 1 meal / day). We also buy fresh salmon from Sam's Club...it's safe and very good for his brain development...his father should eat it more to make up for his younger years!!!

FS

 

[jayyvr]

Some Chinese has a twisted mentality. They either hate the poor or envy the wealthy.

I would not take any chances any day of the week, if I have my child. I understand parents wanting to give the child the best possible thing under the circumstances.

 

[jayyvr]

bump

 

[mobeyk]

Not many Applicants through HK in this forum. Strange as HK is one of the busier VO's.

 

[Fencesitter]

That's probably because a lot of them don't speak much English...plus they have a Chinese version of this forum, though it's not very good because people are extremely slow to reply to questions.

I think the reason HK is so busy is due to a large number of mainland applicants, but not just that, I'm guessing a lot are requested for interview because the mainland provinces going through HK are notorious for marriage fraud...but that's just a guess...from what I have heard, the HK VO is actually quite fast if your case is straightforward and there are no mistakes with the IMM forms. 2-4 months is what I've seen for several cases...even with an interview, like Marty, the processing time seems a lot faster than the posted 18 months...

FS

 

[mobeyk]

80% of applications in 18 months. Yes it can go faster. Lets hope for the best..

 

[Fencesitter]

Anyone have any updates on their timeline through the Hong Kong visa office??

FS