The following email, sent by Pavel Antonín Stehlík, the Commissioner-General of the Czech Pavilion, to the Expo 2010 Steering Committee, has been sent to us by a Shanghaiist reader. In the email peppered with exclamation marks, Stehlík blasts the committee for a laundry list of policies that he sees as "unacceptable", "unnecessary" and "ridiculous" -- and reveals that the Czech pavilion will have to close in May because they have been unable to sort out residence permits for their staff due to an uncooperative Protocol Department. Our heart goes out to Stehlík for all the shit he has had to put up with, and we hope he feels better now that the issues he's highlighted have gotten a proper airing here.

To: Steering Committee of the EXPO 2010

Dear Sir/Madame

Let me to express my serious concern regarding following issues common to all participants as follows.

1. Every day EXPO pavilion staff has serious difficulties to get access to their pavilions, due to queues at gates. All pavilion staff is every day wasting thousands of hours unnecessarily. This is not acceptable. We need much faster staff entry to EXPO site!

Suggested solution: between 7:00 and 9:00 the visitor lines should be open for EXPO staff only. Security screening will be or simplified, or there will be more security people available between 7:30 and 9:30.

2. Only two out of more than 30 of our expat permanent staff have got Residence permit for foreigner in China, because the Protocol Dpt. of EXPO refused to provide required Confirmation Letter to both Labor and Immigration offices, regardless we have provided all required information. As a result my expat pavilion staff has to leave China at the time their F-visa expires (very soon). Therefore the Czech pavilion is going to be closed in May 2010. This is unacceptable.

Suggested solution: EXPO Bureau will issue the Confirmation Letters and would set together with both Immigration office and Labor office a fast, reliable and customer friendly procedure to fix this issue before May 10. 2010.

3. Only one day before EXPO start the organizer has issued written rules on PVIPs. Unfortunately, we cannot follow these unnecessary rules. Only May 1st we have got PVIP cards, but according to the rules, the first day we could invite PVIPs was May 14! This is unacceptable. When pavilion staff is going to hand over PVIP cards to our visitors, he/she is not allowed to walk back through PVIP entry and is forced to queue at staff line, sometimes 40minutes! This is also unacceptable.

Suggested solution: EXPO Bureau will cancel PVIP rules (not needed) and will enable pavilion staff to accompany their PVIPs through PVIP entry lines.

4. Congratulations to the logistic solution used May 4 that eventually enabled us to re-fill our pavilions with required material and goods over night. Unfortunately, May 5. EXPO Bureau has changed the working solution to not working one, again! For example we are not allowed to send our pavilion staff clothes to laundry and bring it back by car by security people, our cars/suppliers car cannot bring our goods to our pavilion and Sinotrans has no capacity to do so quickly, etc. This is unacceptable. We need effective system of May 4th be valid from now on. We need organizer to cancel all ridiculous rules without any delay.

Suggested solution: EXPO Bureau will put back into function logistics rules of May 4th and will cancel all ridiculous rules blocking participants getting their material to/from EXPO site smoothly before May 6th 2010.

5. No rules on emergency repairs for opening hours have been issued yet. As a result, we have no idea hove to make any urgent repair during opening hours in our pavilions (water leakage etc.). This is unacceptable.

Suggested solution: EXPO Bureau will inform all pavilions before May 10th 2010 on emergency repairs and their entry to EXPO site during opening hours.

Given the importance and urgency of the issues listed above I am asking the Steering Committee to take an immediate action on all of them with the organizer.

Yours sincerely,
Pavel Antonín Stehlík
Commissioner General Czech Section
Ambassador

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