Beijing's new harmonious society

[Lao Jia Hou]

Another assault on foreigners http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijin...ague-sanlitun/

I hate Sanlitun at night. Reminds me of a skid road. Any hot head, foreign or Chinese, who is looking for a fight, heads to this area. Several reports of unaware foreigners being set upon. Also, several reports of drunk foreigners acting out their fantasies. Best to steer clear of that place at night. Gives me the creeps.

[TB-Racing]

Foreigners to gain visa-free entry into Beijing for up to three days


2012-5-28 | SHANGHAI DAILY NEWSPAPER


Beijing police will soon launch a new policy to allow 72-hour non-visa entry for foreigners in an effort to ease their travel, the Beijing Youth Daily reported yesterday.


Beijing Police Chief Fu Zhenghua said the move is among new efforts planned to improve the city's service quality. Details of the new policy were not announced.


The news came amid heated speculation surrounding Beijing's newly launched police crackdown against illegal foreign residents. Beijing police had just announced on Thursday that the recent crackdown had not changed the city's friendly attitude toward foreigners, according to the Xinhua news agency.


Most foreigners living in Beijing have legal status and have made contributions to the city's development, a spokesman for the Beijing police reportedly said.


There are about 200,000 foreigners staying in Beijing with legal permits and since 2004, 721 qualified have received a permanent residency permit issued by the Beijing police to stay in China as foreign nationals.


Beijing police recently launched a 100-day campaign targeting foreigners who have entered, lived or worked in the city without the proper paperwork or permits.


The spokesman said the campaign was part of the effort to battle foreigner-related crimes, as police found that most such offenses are committed by foreigners lacking legal status to stay in the country.


Beijing police have increased household and street checks, requiring foreigners to present valid identification. A hotline was opened to encourage the public to report any suspected violations. Foreigners found to be violating laws may face fines, detention or deportation.


The campaign is believed by many to be triggered by the detention of a British national who allegedly tried to sexually assault a Chinese woman on the side of a road in downtown Beijing on May 8.


Although the British man was confirmed to have a valid travel visa, similar incidents may become more frequent if the country does not enhance law enforcement and legislation, Professor Xiang Dang of the Chinese People's Public Security University, told Xinhua in an interview.


Another case in which a Russian cellist insulted a female passenger on a train on May 14 spurred increased public attention. Many netizens accused him of exhibiting a blatant disrespect for Chinese laws and citizens. The cellist was fired by the Beijing Symphony Orchestra a week after.

[bigdamo]

What is it with these people.First they have a crackdown on foreigners now their going to give foreigners( any foreigners by the sound of it) free entry into Beijing for up to three days.

What they don't think some undesirables may take up the offer and fade into the place.

Maybe they have just realized the actions of the last month or so is making a few people think this is not such a great place to visit at the moment.Plenty of other places in the world to go to.

Man this place does my head in.Here's another example why.

A FedEx agent will be right with you...
You have been connected to Celina .
Celina : Hello philip . thanks for visiting FedEx.com, I am researching your question now.
Celina : Australia do not accept personal effects
philip : What they will not except clothes,ski boots,books
Celina : according to the record of Fedex, Au customs do not accpet personal effects
Celina : i'm sorry we can not send it for you
philip: I have sent personnel items/effects from America back home to Australia
philip : Can you email me a copy of this chat session
Celina : you may derive the chat session after the chat session in ended
Celina : i don't know is there any difference for personal effects from China and US to AU
Celina : but China Fedex really can not carry personal effect from China to AU
Celina : Hello philip , we have been Idle for several minutes now, our system will disconnect the chat session in approximately one minute. Please let me know if I can help with anything else ?
philip: Ok I'll contact Australian customs quoting this chat session see what their response is.
Celina : ok.if you need China Fedex's help, pls contact us later
Celina : Thank you for using FedEx.com Chat, philip . We greatly appreciate your business. I would appreciate it if you could complete the short survey at the end of this chat session. Your feedback is the key to the success of our business and the effectiveness of these sessions. Have a great day!
Thank you for using FedEx.com Chat You may now close this window.
Your session has ended. You may now close this window.


AHHHHHH

[998S]

What's hard to understand about that.

I know there is this move in attitude going on, I know several foreigners who are cutting their long term plans of living and retiring in China short, I know there are these hotheads in China who would love to ignite the fuel. I know from personal experience that things are different then 10 years ago.

However, we should also not forget that foreigner behavior is different.
Firstly we are with much more than 10 years ago.
Secondly, we are easily remembered. If we cut someone off in traffic, they will remember , just because we are foreigner, and look like one.
Thirdly, be honest, we DO behave bad from time to time. I will spare you the samples, we all know if we are honest.

So about your remark: What is racist about that sample?
As mentioned, I think we all agree that the attitude is changing, and is going into a direction less favorable for us.
However, we should not getting paranoid, and see things which are not there.
I still travel through a lot, by myself, as a foreign looking guy, and I guarantee you that I feel much safer in a big Chinese city at 3 o'clock in the night, then I feel in a small one in my home country.
And that home country is considered a very civilized and open minded one.

E.

[bigdamo]

I know there is this move in attitude going on, I know several foreigners who are cutting their long term plans of living and retiring in China short, I know there are these hotheads in China who would love to ignite the fuel. I know from personal experience that things are different then 10 years ago.

However, we should also not forget that foreigner behavior is different.
Firstly we are with much more than 10 years ago.
Secondly, we are easily remembered. If we cut someone off in traffic, they will remember , just because we are foreigner, and look like one.
Thirdly, be honest, we DO behave bad from time to time. I will spare you the samples, we all know if we are honest.

So about your remark: What is racist about that sample?
As mentioned, I think we all agree that the attitude is changing, and is going into a direction less favorable for us.
However, we should not getting paranoid, and see things which are not there.
I still travel through a lot, by myself, as a foreign looking guy, and I guarantee you that I feel much safer in a big Chinese city at 3 o'clock in the night, then I feel in a small one in my home country.
And that home country is considered a very civilized and open minded one.

E.

I agree in these times it can be easy to blow things out of proportion but I wouldn't be walking around here at 3 o'clock in the morning even in this safe little town.

It would be a small minority of foreigners behaving badly in China as it is a small minority of Chinese who have this anti foreigner attitude.Just when you add up the numbers it don't look pretty.What is that often quoted saying if there is 00.5 % of China ????

I can clearly remember back to July 2009 here in Xinjiang and how the mood well it weren't only the mood that changed rapidly.People who I thought were the kindest wouldn't hurt a fly people well.I remember the little old ladies who formed there own posse to patrol their apartment complex to rid it of "evil people"pulling me up on one occasion because I look abit like a starts with U.

By the way my small town back home i can leave the keys in the ignition of the car and don't have to worry about locking the house/sheds and garage up when I go to bed.

Guess where I feel safer.

[ZMC888]

I've been in China 10 years and it is the worst I've ever known it. There's always been an anti-foreigner feeling simmering under the surface, where I live it's about 10-30%, you can see the hatred on the faces of the people, especially insecure drunk guys who act out like kiddies when they have a few. This minority, in their heads it's just this moronic 'us and them' mentality, 191 countries and 7.5 billion in the world who aren't Mainland Chinese, apparently they are all the same, can be tarred with the same brush. Every evening 'foreigners are all this or that or all think that' coming up through my window from the idiots eating at the shaokao downstairs, like some freaking obsession. If they said 'westerners' or even 'Americans' or 'Europeans', I'd have some sympathy. If the USA invade a country apparently I agree with that policy by virtue of being white. I get this feeling the crimes of every foreigner whether 300 years ago or last week is the responsibility of mine. On the other hand everything China earns or steals is considered just natural fair and deserved, even owed to them by some kind of god-given right, like some kind of nation of sociopaths. I worry that as China gets wealthier and more powerful China might become international bullies. This media nonsense just plays into the hands of the idiotic and ill-informed minority. Sure most people agree with getting rid of foreign trash, but most of this minority think this means 'foreigners are all trash'.

I'm just venting but...........

[felix]

This thread is starting to sound paranoid, if not hateful. Chill, stay polite and make sure your visa is up to date, as you should regardless of the current situation.

It'll blow over when the media find something new to obsess about. Generalisations about foreigners are annoying at best, but they're no different here than in any other country. All our homes also have uneducated loud mouths calling out false stereotypes when they see someone who looks different, it's just that when we're at home it's not directed at us.

[bigdamo]

I think it will calm down( it will never blow over it has always been here just at different levels aimed at different nationalities) probably next year once the powers that be sort out there power struggles in October and that finally filters down to the provincial levels then it will be situation normal well situation normal for China.

[Lao Jia Hou]

Hateful? Paranoid? Hmmmm ... not really. Aware & cautious seems slightly more likely.

I think what is disconcerting about this "campaign" is that this country has a very long history, including recently, of mass mob mentality, divorced from rationality.

There is a difference between normal law enforcement (24/7) and a "sweep out the trash" campaign, promulgated by leading media outlets and media personalities. There are hothead idiots in every country, including China, who take it upon themselves to seek frontier justice ... especially if the hothead idiots feel they are being backed/endorsed by the media. We don't have to go very far back in the history of most countries, including European countries and countries in the Americas (Canada included!), to see horrible "campaigns" get out of control. Certainly back home, there have been cases of yokels riding in from the country in their pickups, banjos playing, shotguns loaded, empty beer can hurling ... looking for a "good time" chasing some "trash."

I think that is what many in the Beijing expat community are wondering ... will some yokel from the Southern burbs take potshots from their Xiaoli? I, for one, have been feeling a little more vulnerable on a bike.

But, at least in Beijing, there is starting to be the softer, kinder, more gentle side appearing ...

http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabid...id-expats.aspx

Frankly, I tend to trust government and the police (yeah, I know ... maybe i am a different type of idiot), but I have never had any bad experience with the Chinese police or Chinese authorities. Ever. In fact, I have often been surprised at how pleasant they are, notwithstanding some crazy bureaucratic rules. Also, in my experience, the Chinese police and government officials have actually gone out of their way to try and help me. Hopefully, my experiences won't change. I know for certain that the uptight Canadian police & bureaucrats could learn a thing or two from these guys here.

[998S]

So, while we have reached some kind of understanding on what is going on, the more important question is: "what are we going do with it?".
Besides of staying low for a while, is it time to reconsider your stay in China?
Is it time to give up the retiring plans you might have?
Is it time to sell the house you might have.
Is it time to give up other possessions like cars and bikes you might own?