Beijing has officially acknowledged that it has tightened visa procedures ahead of the Olympic Games, AP reported. Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said that the approval process has become "more strict" and authorities were now "more serious" with the visa approval procedures, adding that the stricter policies would continue for "a period of time." Qin said that the new policies were made in accordance with the practice in past Olympics and international norms. The Chinese government had previously denied that visa policies had been changed, despite reports from travel agents in Hong Kong that tourist and business visas were becoming increasingly difficult to obtain.