From sloan@acsu.buffalo.eduWed Sep  6 16:02:13 1995
Date: Mon, 4 Sep 1995 20:37:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: Lacey Sloan <sloan@acsu.buffalo.edu>
Reply to: beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org
To: M Deborah Bialeschki <moon@email.unc.edu>
Cc: beijing95-l@netcom.com, beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org
Subject: Back from Beijing (visas and hotel comments)

Hi everyone,

I have just returned from Beijing after a short time at the conference.  
Interestingly enough, once we were in Beijing we were able to obtain the 
proper hotel letters--we had gone through a travel agent to get hotel and 
just barely got visas in time to go.  However, we were booked into a 
non-designated hotel and had to move the day after we checked in.  All 
FWCW participants in Beijing were in designated hotels where the rates 
were standardized (as you might assume, at a higher rate than tourist 
rates).  However, it was as simple as walking to c computer a the Workers 
Stadium to get a designated hotel (they did not have us in their hotel 
computer, but our conference badges were there).

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According to extimates in Hauirou, about 20-27,000 women had received 
visas, thousands did not receive visas.

Conference participants were also forced to use the most expensive taxis 
(there are three levels of taxis: 1.00, 1.60, and 2.00 RMB per km) to 
leave hotels or travel in Hauirou.  Other tourists could use any of the 
taxis.  In addition, conference participants were not allowed to have 
guests in their room at any time--normal hotel rules where we stayed was 
no guests after 11 p.m., but a special bulletin applied to conference 
guests and that was no guests at anytime.

The Chinese people themselves were wonderful, and made great hosts.

However, the United Nations must be held accountable for the 
conference...Men would never have been put in conditions under which we 
tried to work in Hauirou.  

There was no accessibility for women with disablities.  One group of 
women in wheelchairs, staying on the fifth floor of an apartment in 
Hauirou with no elevator were not allowed to change rooms with women on 
the first floor--instead they were forced to be carried up and down to 
their rooms!!

Due to hotel changes and the lack of a main conference 
location/information area (please don't call the global pavillion an 
infomration area), formal networking was very difficult.  Yes, there were 
regional tents, and diversity tents...but it should be noted that the 
diversity tents were on removed from the main center of the conference.

I do not know how the participants in Hauirou can ever hope to influence 
the UN degelages in Beijing.  transportation remained a problem between 
the two cities (I missed one of the workshops I was supposed to prestn 
on due to bus problems).

I do not know what we can do to hold the UN 
accontable, but to have so many women denied visas, in addition to the 
problems in China, are just unacceptable.

Don't get me wrong-the conference was a once in a lifetime expereince, 
and I have met women I hope to work with for many years, but let us not 
overlook all the people who did not get to go, and the many ways our 
voices were silenced at the conference.,
\
Lacey