On Crime In China by Tom Carter

On Crime In China by Tom Carterresponse.
Perhaps the single most reassuring fact aboutA push on their part led to a not gentle shove on
travel in the People's Republic of China is itsmine, sending one of the men flying back into his
remarkably low crime rate.two friends. The next few moments were a feral
The Ministry of Public Security (MPS), the principalblur, and for a short time I laudably held my own.
authority of domestic criminal procedures, earlierBut six bare fists can infallibly do more damage
this year announced a 15 percent decline in violentthan two. The tough guys retreated into the
crime (4.5 million reported cases for 2005), whilenight, leaving me breathless and battered.
common property infringement incidents such asThe police arrived thereafter and took me to the
theft, fraud and robbery, which account for 80Public Security Bureau to get a statement. It was
percent of all cases, rose by only 1 percent.determined that the hotel security guards failed to
Cosmopolitan cities such as Beijing and Shanghai,serve their purpose, and it was also found that
which annually attract tens of millions of overseasthe hotel did not follow strict municipal protocol in
visitors on business or holiday, applaud themselvescopying the three perpetrators' identification cards
for providing public order and relatively safe citybefore accommodating them, which would have
streets where one can walk at just about anyassisted the police in their investigation.
hour in relative safety.This meant that it was my right under Chinese
But all is not necessarily quiet on the home front.law to demand an immediate financial settlement
In an uncharacteristically candid public admission,from the hotel proprietor-for my troubles, you
the MPS has reported a pandemic of illicit drugsee-though it hardly made up for the bang up job
trafficking in China led by an increasing number ofthose inebriated gentlemen did on me.
foreign crime syndicates, reportedly from theTo be sure, the aforementioned incident is an
African regimes of Nigeria and Liberia and triadsisolated one, with a great majority of expatriates
from neighboring Asian countries.being lucky, or not, to see so much action during
Moreover, violent crime on the southern shore istheir stay in China ("I was overcharged!" seems to
notoriously rampant in Guangdong, making it thebe the leading complaint).
only province in China's mainland to arm policeWith only one police officer for every thousand
with guns.residents in a population of 1.3 billion, and more
Nor is this to say that Westerners are entirelythan 40 percent of mainland precincts having
exempt from either being the victim of, orfewer than five officers, compounded with a
committing, more serious crimes.general lack of funding, resources or
I have found myself in several situations whilestate-of-the-art technology, China's police ought to
traveling extensively throughout China. I fondlybe commended for maintaining an impressively
remember the street gang who confronted me inlow national crime rate.
a darkened alley in Inner Mongolia, or facing offLet there be no mistake: Xinhua News Agency
with a pickpocket in crowded Qianmen hutong inhas reported that there were twice as many
Beijing with a baying crowd of onlookers takingreported criminal cases in 2005 than in 1990, and
great delight in watching a 196cm waiguorensix times that of 1980. But compared to
vigilante.hyper-violent icons of the wild West such as Los
Then there was that time in Chongqing. NotAngeles and New York, it is no wonder that China
exactly heralded as a top tourist destination, theis witnessing an increasing number of foreigners
interior municipality of Chongqing, located on theresiding in its gleaming municipalities. China remains
rusty banks of the Yangtz River, uncannilyone of the statistically safest countries to visit,
resembles a lawless early-century port-of-call ofand the rest of the world would do well to take
maritime merchants, hardened dock laborers andnotice.
waterfront brothels.###
An overnight stay in a small hotel on the outskirtsChina Photographer Tom Carter is the author of
of China's largest, and hottest, city, turned into aCHINA: Portrait of a People, 888 snapshots of life
midnight brawl after a polite request on my partand humanity from the 33 provinces of the
to ask three obviously drunk men loitering in thePeople's Republic of China, due out this winter
hallway to settle down, was met with a hostilefrom Hong Kong publisher Blacksmith Books.