Visa problems
Chinese find obstacles to doing business here
By JEFF RAYMOND
The Brownsville Herald
May 2, 2005 — A delegation of Chinese businessmen representing companies considering a move here has found obstacles from inside City Hall and overseas.
Seven people from the southern Chinese province of Fujian needed invitation letters from the city of Brownsville to obtain business visas.
The group initially ran into trouble obtaining city officials’ signatures, and later had its visa applications denied without explanation, said Harber Chang, who is assisting the group with its relocation efforts through his Alabama seafood import-export firm.
The Chinese plan to build an industrial park in Brownsville and perhaps a trade center in Harlingen, Chang said, predicting the 212 manufacturers interested in occupying the Brownsville park would generate about 6,000 jobs in five years.
“We’ve got a good opportunity here, and we’re serious about the people coming here,” he said.
The Chinese will make clothing, shoes, furniture, electronics and science-related items, and process fruit, Chang said.
Local seafood restaurant owner Robert Sanchez has been working with Chang to bring the delegation to Brownsville. His work has provided him business tied with Asian seafood buyers, Sanchez said.
Sanchez, a City Commission candidate, accused Mayor Eddie Treviño of playing political games at Brownsville’s expense by not signing all the letters.
“They’re ready to go. They’re excited about it,” Sanchez said of the Chinese. “They absolutely needed the mayor’s signature.”
Sanchez is running a heated campaign against District 3 Commissioner Carlos Cisneros, a political ally of the mayor.
Treviño signed three letters, and City Manager Charlie Cabler signed the others. Cabler and Treviño said they had to return them several times for corrections.
“On these letters you have to be very careful they’re noncommittal,” Treviño said.
The letters formally invited the Chinese to Brownsville and were careful to note that a private entity would cover the cost upon the group’s arrival.
The letters further noted the group’s desire to buy property for a “Brownsville World Trade Center” and “Free Trade Zone Park.”
Both Cabler and Treviño denied playing politics with the invitations and said the city welcomed companies’ inquiries.
Treviño, who has a law practice in Brownsville, said he tried to help the Chinese as much as he could but was out of town when the letters needed attention and asked Cabler to sign them.
“I had tried to assist Mr. Sanchez in this thing. This is a private venture for him,” the mayor said, adding that he tried to help out with such matters whenever possible.
Treviño chalked up Sanchez’ comments to election-season politics.
“Even when you try to work with him, it’s not good enough,” the mayor said.
Sanchez said the exchange showed how politics could get in the way of the city’s best interests.
“They’re coming in, and this will change Brownsville forever,” he said, predicting the Chinese influx would spark development of a so-called “Chinatown” in Brownsville of the executives and their families.
Sanchez said the delegation had “checkbooks in hand” and noted the visit would not cost the city anything. The Chinese were to have paid part of the cost, with Sanchez and his father picking up the rest.
Sanchez estimated the cost at about $1,000. He said the Chinese had “insinuated” he could make some money by helping to put them in contract with builders and others to get the industrial park up and running.
However, Sanchez said money was not his main motivation.
“I just don’t want to release these guys to the (Greater Brownsville Incentives Corp.) or the (Brownsville Economic Development Corp.) or the mayor or the chamber and they slip through the cracks,” he said.
The Chinese firms are considering vacant land near Palo Alto National Historic Site for the industrial park, Sanchez said, calling the delegation’s plans “a reverse philosophy of the maquilladora concept.”
The Chinese plan to complete 80 percent of their work abroad and 20 percent in Brownsville — enough to label their products “Made in America,” he said.
Chang, who said he helped bring Chinese investors and American officials together, explained the trouble his clients have had with their yet-to-be-scheduled trip.
“I don’t know why … they (didn’t) really want to sign some kind of invitation letter,” he said of city officials.
Chang said the American Consulate in Guangzhou, China, did not return his phone calls about why it denied the visas.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Nancy Beck said State Department policy did not allow her or others to discuss individual visa applications.
Chang said Brownsville’s proximity to South American markets made Brownsville a logical choice for clients.
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