(sal 'n') pepper-spray

[randall_flagg]

Hi!

I will be in China in just about 9 days! Yippee! Anyway, I will be all by my lonesome self, so I want to pack some pepper-spray not only for anti-robbery self-defense (that sounds foolish) but also for dogs, as I’ll be travelling off that famed beaten track.

So, has anyone ever taken pepper-spray onto an airplane? OBVIOUSLY I will not attempt to put it in my carry-on, but would try to check it. However, airline security and maybe even customs might not be too tickled to find me try to take a weapon onto their plane and into their country, right? Any experiences you wish to share or advice you wish to give?

Btw, when I was in Yellowstone, I bought the “anti-bear mace”. That I had a blast! I never used it, except for some testing in the woods, but I felt pretty secure with that thing dangling on my belt.

As always: thanks!

Randall

[geraldc]

I would check with the authorities before taking stuff like that overseas. Sprays like that are classed as offensive weapons in the UK, and if you get caught with them by the police you'll be in big trouble.

[fenlan]

Randall, you WON'T need pepper spray in China. To fend off what attacks? You won't be attacked. There will be no robberies to fend off. Period. Dogs? These are only a problem in Tibet. Owing to the post-1949 cull in the rest of China, there are few/no dogs roaming the streets in China. (I hate to think you are planning on spraying pepper into the faces of China's dogs.)

When I was in China, the police warned the foreign students that fighting with Chinese was against the law. Seeing as there is a 0% chance of Chinese choosing to fight you, that seems reasonable. I don't know what happens to a Canadian who sprays bear mace in the face of a local Chinese, but I hope they throw the book at anyone who does do such a thing. You should know, that plenty of foreigners "flip out" in China, find it emotionally/psychologically hard to deal with. You may think there are no circumstances whereby you would reach for your mace/spray in an extremely trivial altercation, but if I were you I would not take a weapon to China. Please believe me, and everyone else on this board, when we say that you will NOT need this in China.

[roddy]

Take a stick.

[randall_flagg]

Ok, ok, thank you for the advice. Just so that you don't think I'm a total nutcase: I go jogging a lot and plan to do so in rural China (if the opportunity comes along). When jogging in the countryside, I've been repeatedly chased down by dogs.

Throwing (or even pretending to throw) pebbles at them has worked out fine so far, but fellow joggers tell me that pepper-spray is what I need. So I believed the hype.

I’ve been to China before, and never was I attacked. I myself think of China as a pretty safe place to be, but a Chinese friend over here told me to take a knife with me in case I get attacked! Now, that’s not only over the edge, I think that’s pretty stupid. Way to go to escalate a situation.

[pazu]

Just want to remind you that in case you stop in Hong Kong (transit or what), it's illegal to bring pepper spray, I read from the newspaper a few years ago that a lady was caught because of this.

[phbriggs]

Eat heaps of fresh garlic and breathe heavily.

[roddy]

Just want to remind you that in case you stop in Hong Kong (transit or what), it's illegal to bring pepper spray

Friend of mine was stopped at HK customs when they found he was carrying knuckle-dusters. He'd bought them in Shanghai as a keepsake (don't ask me why). They eventually just confiscated them and let him go, but they kept him hanging around for hours (just for fun I reckon, serves him right as well)

[梅克立]

Randall' date=' you WON'T need pepper spray in China. To fend off what attacks? You won't be attacked. There will be no robberies to fend off. Period. Dogs? These are only a problem in Tibet. Owing to the post-1949 cull in the rest of China, there are few/no dogs roaming the streets in China. (I hate to think you are planning on spraying pepper into the faces of China's dogs.)

When I was in China, the police warned the foreign students that fighting with Chinese was against the law. Seeing as there is a 0% chance of Chinese choosing to fight you, that seems reasonable. I don't know what happens to a Canadian who sprays bear mace in the face of a local Chinese, but I hope they throw the book at anyone who does do such a thing. You should know, that plenty of foreigners "flip out" in China, find it emotionally/psychologically hard to deal with. You may think there are no circumstances whereby you would reach for your mace/spray in an extremely trivial altercation, but if I were you I would not take a weapon to China. Please believe me, and everyone else on this board, when we say that you will NOT need this in China.[/quote']

This is not true... I've been to some fairly rough and tumble KTV bars with my Chinese friends and at one point a Chinese guy was taking my somewhat intoxicated laowai friend outside for a fight. If it weren't for my 6'2 Chinese friend I'm sure some shit would have gone down. Now I realize going to seedy KTV bars is stupid but I like to experience the culture for all it's worth

[phbriggs]

This is not true... I've been to some fairly rough

If you want trouble, you will find it in any country that you travel. Not a reason to have a spray ready.

[梅克立]

^^^^^^

I agree completely with the above. It was totally because I was in a rather crappy section of town. I think the dogs here are for the most part more well behaved then in the US. They don't bark or run after cars or anything.

[Yang Rui]

Some girls I know in China carry this kind of thing. It's called 防狼器 fang2lang2qi4. This translates roughly as "Anti-pervert machine". If you are absolutely desperate to have it, I'm sure it would be better to buy it in China than try getting it onto an aeroplane.

I don't think it would be a good idea to carry it round in cities though, because it's always best to just walk away from trouble if it arises. All the foreigners I know who have been in fights in China have asked for it eg by taking the piss out of a taxi driver (later to find he has a lot of taxi driver friends who will stick up for him in a fight). Carrying something that could have the potential to esalate a situation is not a good idea, as you will always be outnumbered in China.

If sticks and stones have worked against dogs before, why not just stick to this cheaper option?

[gougou]

If sticks and stones have worked against dogs before, why not just stick to this cheaper option?

As in throwing stones at taxi drivers?

[Yang Rui]

Of course not. I mean at the dogs.