Crime in China

[Harvey]

Hi guys,

I have been living in Japan for a long time and it has made me soft.

In most areas in Japan, you could forget your bag on a train, and it will ride all the way to the last stop unattended before someone will pick it up and hand it to the station master, who will hand it back to you no questions asked when you come look for it. Pickpockets are very rare. No fear staying out late at night, pretty much regardless of the location... stuff like that.

I was in Paris a year or so ago and got my pda stolen so fast it wasn't even funny.

Japan made me soft!

I was wondering what it was like in China? Will I need to harden up and keep a closer eye on my personal belongings? Or is China pretty save like Japan is today? Anyone who has been to both and can compare?

Thanks! Just curious.

[盤古]

I've lived in mainland China for about over a year (a couple of months at a time). Although I lived mainly in Beijing and Shanghai but I've also lived in other cities.

My personal impression is that it would be VERY unlikely for you to be robbed or assaulted but if you happen to forget to lose a personal belonging, the chances of you getting it back is slim to none.

Unlike here in the U.S., I had no fear strolling around the cities late at night after I've gone clubbing or bar hopping. But I did forget my cell phone at a McDonald's once and when I went back to retrieve it 15 minutes later, it was long gone...

I believe thanks to traditional Chinese culture (or East Asian culture in general), direct assault is rare. However as China is more and more influenced by the West and more and more capitalistic it becomes, I am assuming it will walk down the path of the U.S. and perhaps in 10 or 20 years, it will be just as dangerous.

[skylee]

I think Shenzhen and Guangzhou may be less safe.

[laohu489]

It is very safe living in China. If you are careless, your stuff will disappear, no question. Only once did I have (I think) an attempt at picking my pocket. He failed. Just like living in any city, you need to be aware. I have heard through friends and newspapers that theives sometimes try to slit your bag or pocket with a razor, but nothing ever violent.

[roddy]

Violent robbery seems to be rare - I've never heard of it happening to anyone I know, or anyone they know. However as said, if you aren't careful with valuable stuff, you'll lose it - I know plenty of people who have lost a wallet, bag, or mobile phone - I'm generally pretty aware of where my stuff is and who's around me, but I'm always extra aware anywhere there are lots of tourists and / or crowds - subway, buses and train station in particular.

From what you say, it sounds like it's not as idyllic as Japan, but you can still walk home drunk in safety (as long as you don't fall into a canal or anything)

Roddy

[盤古]

Oh, just a thought, most major Chinese cities have very high (and dense) population compare to most non-Chinese cities. For example, Beijing has a population of about 13 million while Shanghai with 16 million. Both cities are actually EXTREMELY safe when you consider the large and dense population.

[fenlan]

In 1993 I had a wallet stolen from me on a bus in Beijing. It was a very large wallet, too big for a pocket, in fact a souvenir of the double decker train from Tianjin to Beijing, and so I put in it my bag and did the zip up. But in the crush on the bus, I could not see my bag. The strap was around my neck, but my actual bag was around 3 people away. When i got off the bus, there was no wallet, no passport, no student card, juliuzheng or anything. This was on a bus between the friendship store and the former McDonald's on the corner of Wangfujing - prime tourist territory. But the thief must have operated in the full knowledge of many people on the bus.

When travelling in China, I stay in dormitories to keep the cost down. I take my valuables with me everywhere. If I go to the toilet, the money, the passport, the camera and the plane tickets come with me in a little bag...

[tokyo_girl]

You're right about Japan making one soft.

Expo has reported 4 pickpocketings - and it's possible that some of them

were items lost rather than stolen.

[bhchao]

During the Tokugawa Shogunate an urban resident will be executed if he/she found an item that didn't belong to them and took it as their own possession. They were supposed to turn in the item to authorities until the rightful owner came to reclaim it.

[Harvey]

Thanks for the replies. Seems like I'll just need to get my common sense back after getting out of Japan and over to China. Thanks for all the thoughtful replies!

Hey doy ou have any trouble as foreigners in China when it comes to crime?

In Japan, I think you are less likely to be robbed or have theft trouble if you are a non-EastAsian foreigner, and MORE likely to be randomly stopped by the cops to check if your bicycle is stolen.

[andycmda]

there are theories about race that plays a role in criminal likelihood, whethere you are Caucasian, Mongoloid, or Negroid. We expect Negroid race to have the highest criminal likelihood, followed by Caucasian, then Mongoloid, which is eastern Asian.

Also, there are theories about blood type playing the role. people with A blood type are less likely to commit low tech crime like robbery, violent crimes than B and O types, but A types are more like to commit high tech crimes.

[devi9]

I have heard of this blood type theory in China! Where'd you hear about it?

[Celso Pin]

Regarding the blood type, the Rhesus factor makes any difference?

[hakkaboy]

I can't believe that blood type plays any role. It is probably largely cultural. I should add that China appears to many foreigners to have a low crime rate but when you look at the stats they have obviously increased a lot over the years, and it is not a particularly low crime country any more. But as a foreigner you are still unlikely to notice any serious crime.

[timkunming]

regarding crime in China,

Granted, the only city I've lived in for any extensive period of time is Kunming. Being that Yunnan is one of the poorest provinces in the country, things sound much more dangerous here than in cities like Beijing or Shanghai, where I (incorrectly) guessed the rate of crime would be much higher.

Here, it's a given that if you aren't watching your things, they'll probably be gone. I've lost a cellphone at one point and had the wonderful opportunity to catch several pickpockets in the act. At that point, I just shout "小头!" and they book it.

True, violent crime is rare, but only towards foreigners. Three days ago I was finishing an appendix operation at the hospital here when a young guy came in, carried by two of his friends. He had bought a cellphone bag on the street across from Wal-Mart at Xiao Xi Men, and when he went to leave someone grabbed his cellphone. Foolishly, he fought for it and ended up getting stabbed twice in the back with a five-inch long knife.

I don't believe there is any sort of Confucian ethic going on here. The biggest matter is the fact that most Chinese (thieves in general here) don't know what to expect from a foreigner, be they white, black, brown, etc. Would we put up a fight or back down? They don't know, so it's better not to even bother getting into a fight. I've seen plenty of brutal street fights here, Chinese VS Chinese, but never have I seen a Chinese and a foreigner fight.

Just my two cents, share your toughts!

Tim

[hakkaboy]

Timkunming, thanks for the advice over crime in Kunming. Can I just say that "thief" is not 小头 but 小偷. xiao3tou1

[woliveri]

When travelling in China, I stay in dormitories to keep the cost down. I take my valuables with me everywhere. If I go to the toilet, the money, the passport, the camera and the plane tickets come with me in a little bag...

There's gotta be a better way. I'm going to have a laptop, digital camera, digital voice recorder, possibly a video camera and I plan to be in China for a long time.

Is there no way to secure this stuff without lugging it around all over the place?

No storage lockers at the Universities?

[Quest]

woliveri, will you share a room with other people or live by yourself? I think a laptop lock is always advisable. Other than that, just lock your doors (with hard to break locks) and windows. Don't let people see through the windows you have valuable gadgets lying around unattended. Taking them out with you is not always safer, you still have to watch out for the street gangs...

Just use good judgement and common sense, and be 2x careful. It should be okay.

[woliveri]

Quest,

I've signed up for duel occupancy. So I will be subject to my room mate's carefulness, or lack of.

I was considering buying some kind of case I can lock and attach to some piece of furniture with another lock.

Thanks for the laptop lock suggestion.

[aimei]

Is it safe for a couple of girls to go clubbing or walk around at night in a major Chinese city? A girlfriend and I wanted to check out the Paris nightlife a couple years ago, and a friend of mine living there said that was a really bad idea for girls to walk around without a guy accompanging them at night. Is this the same with China?