Chinese Laws and other guidelines

[haotailecongmeiguo]

I will be going to China in the fall to study and I want to learn more about laws that are considered common or normal but would be foreign or unusual to someone from the USA.

Can those who are from the States give me an idea of what will be different or refer me to a blog, book or website?

Thanks for your help!

[WestTexas]

You can drink beer practically anywhere. Guns are illegal. Criticizing the government is illegal. There are no traffic laws, at least not in practice. Littering appears to be completely legal. Peeing outside is also OK.

I would say that in general Chinese people are much more mellow and laid-back about smaller laws (things that would be misdemeanors in the US). Their enforcement of some laws is very lax or nonexistent. Prostitution, for example, is technically illegal, but some brothels are extremely obvious and go on operating with seemingly no penalties. Also, there is a lot of corruption. Wealthier people, or those connected with high-ranking government workers, can sometimes get away with crimes.

[Brian US]

Drug usage in certain parts of the states may get you a slap on the wrist. In China, it's bad news bears.

[abcdefg]

Drivers legally turn right on red at intersections. And vehicles de facto always have the right of way. Pedestrians must stay alert.

[icebear]

Skateboarding is permitted nearly anywhere.

[yialanliu]

And vehicles de facto always have the right of way. Pedestrians must stay alert.

True, but de jure or if there is ever an accident, the car is always at fault. So as a pedestrian, you have to yield, but if you happen to be hit, the driver is held accountable.

Trust me, it's something you must remember if you ever want to drive in China.

Legal limit is also like 0.01 for BAC so no drinking or driving whereas in the States, having 1 beer would still be legal, in China you can't have any alcohol in your system.

[WestTexas]

Drivers legally turn right on red at intersections

This is legal in some parts of the US, at least in Texas it is legal.

[icebear]

Drivers legally turn right on red at intersections

This is legal in some parts of the US, at least in Texas it is legal.

I actually thought it was legal everywhere in the US; at the least its practiced widely throughout the west and mountain regions.

[gato]

Turning right on red is not legal in NYC.

[anonymoose]

If you eat at a fast-food restaurant, you don't have to clear your tray away yourself.

If you eat anything bony or with a shell, it is fine just to spit the unswallowable parts out onto the table top.

If you go to a public toilet, you need to take your own toilet paper with you.

[Takeshi]

Copyright infringement is either legal or de-facto unenforced.

My university has an officially university sponsored local network server chock full of media for direct download that they clearly don't have distribution rights for. (Available at speeds like 10~20MiB/s; that's like a few secs for a movie, I'm serious) I can't imagine something like existing that in the land of the free.

You can also buy pirated DVDs/VCDs at any street corner, but you probably already know this.

EDIT: Also, photocopy shops don't mind if you copy a whole book straight. Most will have a service where you leave the book there and someone will turn the pages for you. Doing so is probably more expensive than a Chinese book, but it is useful sometimes.

[icebear]

In restaurants its usually fine to ash all over the floor.

[大肚男]

smoking is permitted almost everywhere.

[freshysauce]

including right under "no smoking" signs...

[Brian US]

My friend was in a restaurant with no smoking signs. He asked the waitress if he could smoke, she turned the no smoking sign over, and said she didn't care.

Fun fact: Michigan you can turn right on a red light, but you have to come to a complete stop first, like a stop sign.

[edelweis]

what about the good samaritan thing?

It was reported several times that Chinese tribunals find helping strangers suspicious and a sign of guilt.

Is there actually no law that requires you to help someone who is in immediate danger?

[gato]

It was reported several times that Chinese tribunals find helping strangers suspicious and a sign of guilt.

The famous Nanjing case where a student supposedly helped an old lady turned out to be mistaken. He did knock the old lady over. This was recently clarified.

[Friedrich]

nobody cares whats legal and whats not. The stronger wins. Be strong!