> For the most part, I feel more safe and free in Shanghai than the U.S. For the most part, Chinese people I meet from all walks of life and age groups feel more free than they did 10 years ago.
Did you know why Shanghai is the safer metropolitan city in the world? Because there are two things called 城管 and 暂住证.
If those two were canceled, I guarantee you Shanghai will be hell.
Minority's security is based on majority's misery. That's what China's prosperity really about.
"暂住证" literally means "temporary living permission". It's a piece of paper you have to carry along with you if you are going to live for a longer period of time (I think > 1 month) in a city which is NOT your household registration place. This is how China manages the flow of population.
"城管" (literally "urban managers") are the bunch of guys to kick you ass out of the city if you don't have the temporary living permission. (though they do a lot more than this).
Usually it's not a big issue. And when it is, it's usually in the top big cities (Beijing, Shanghai, etc).
The problem is, they have such things there, and they can choose when and where to enforce it, which can be pretty annoying. For example, it's much more likely you get "deported" from Beijing during the two sessions of National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Same applies for Olympics 2008 and World Expo 2010.
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> For the most part, I feel more safe and free in Shanghai than the U.S. For the most part, Chinese people I meet from all walks of life and age groups feel more free than they did 10 years ago.
Did you know why Shanghai is the safer metropolitan city in the world? Because there are two things called 城管 and 暂住证.
If those two were canceled, I guarantee you Shanghai will be hell.
Minority's security is based on majority's misery. That's what China's prosperity really about.
Care to elaborate on what you are talking about here for non-Mandarin readers ?
"暂住证" literally means "temporary living permission". It's a piece of paper you have to carry along with you if you are going to live for a longer period of time (I think > 1 month) in a city which is NOT your household registration place. This is how China manages the flow of population.
"城管" (literally "urban managers") are the bunch of guys to kick you ass out of the city if you don't have the temporary living permission. (though they do a lot more than this).
Thanks for clarifying, I hadn't realised this - is this the case for all major Chinese cities ?
Usually it's not a big issue. And when it is, it's usually in the top big cities (Beijing, Shanghai, etc).
The problem is, they have such things there, and they can choose when and where to enforce it, which can be pretty annoying. For example, it's much more likely you get "deported" from Beijing during the two sessions of National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Same applies for Olympics 2008 and World Expo 2010.