China’s plan to ease border restrictions has excited Australians with relatives there, but trips are likely to be delayed by limited and expensive tickets.
Australian families cut off from relatives in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau because of COVID-19 restrictions, the government cancelling visas, as well as limited and expensive flights, now have hope as Beijing reopens the country’s borders.
No airline currently has daily services in and out of mainland China, meaning high fares and few seats are likely to stay for the foreseeable future. Simon Jiang’s parents-in-law arrived in Sydney from Beijing in November this year after months of delays trying to get their visas, passports and flights, which were running only weekly.
“We can’t visit them in China because my children, who are nine and seven, used to have a Chinese visa, but the government cancelled all the visas.“My mum died during the COVID lockdowns, and it was very sad because it meant I could not go because I’d need to quarantine for four weeks and it would make no sense.
“The kids used to be able to speak some Chinese, but now it’s very difficult for them because even the other kids at school with Chinese backgrounds are now using English,” he said.
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