Job Discussion Forums

[jeffinflorida]

A friend of mine got jumped in QUANZHOU recently. Hit over the head with beer bottles by 3 chinese who got him form behind.

Here's the email that went around about the incident in the local FT news group:

got this email from a fellow expat in Quanzhou. I thought it warranted distribution as we all need a reminder about the underside of Quanzhou.

This is not the first time this has happened to foreigners here. It may only be a matter of time before we have a fatality or serious injury.

I have deleted any identifying info...

[upchuckles]

a few months ago, I happened into a bar where two young foreign girls (about 19-20 years old) were totally drunk after having been offered a free bottle of Johnny walker Red by three unsavory Chinese folks.. Apparently those little *beep* didnt want the girls to leave and were keeping them around until they were nearly unconcious.

One F.T. girl came up to me and whispered in my ear, don't leave without us please.. I told her I was leaving at that moment and if they were to come with me they should leave now..

We started to leave together.. The three little F'n drunk *bleepity fackin' bleep* Chinese step in front of me pushing and harrassing me and my fiance. One punched her in the head.. I had to be told what happened next but it was something like this:

Three little drunk F'n *bleepity fackin' bleep* Chinese got thrown through a bar window.. and I got a bill and a visit from the PSB the next morning..

In retrospect, I really should'nt have done that for two reasons.. Besides the legal implications and certain bais in any kind of legal scenario, that particular area was noted for a recent incident where some Chinese dude hacked off another guys hand during the course of a bar brawl.. Can you imagine trying to punch some MF who hacked your hand off with a bloody stump?

[Lister]

Stories like this are why I prefer to sit with my back to a wall in public places in China.

Upchuckles, my condolences to you man (and jeffinflorida's friend too), can I ask how the PSB handled it? was it a case of them working with the locals to f**k the foreigner over or were they fair and reasonable?

[jeffinflorida]

I'd also like to know what the bill for the window came to !

My friend in Quanzhou ( really wasn't me...) has lived there for quite some time and this surprised many of us but it wasn't the first time this has happened and on this street.

this street is a back alley type street that has maybe 10 or 15 bars and the foreigners hang at a few of the spots to drink.

[HunanForeignGuy]

Dear Jeff, Dear All,

For those of you who are Yanks on the Board and reading this thread, only last week the United States Consulate in Guangzhou emailed a special warning to all United States citizens on its mailing list for its district here -- the special warning was particularly about these kind of assaults that occured in certain areas of the district it serves and particularly in those late night bar hours areas. The Consulate mentioned that both it and the Embassy have been dealing with numerous assaults on United States citizens in alcohol-fueled disputes and it mentioned that the numbers have reached levels unseen before. Some of the areas discussed were parts of Guangzhou, parts of Fujian, etc., etc.

It also warned that in cases where the battles occured after drinking binges that it would be loathe to intervene, etc., etc. In any case, we all should remember that extraterritorialty does not exist nor has it for almost 70 years and the best drunken battle is the battle not fought. Again, prudence being the mother of invention, we should all realize that as far as the PSB is concerned, there is an automatic presumption of guilt vis-a-vis the foreigner. Avoid the battle, avoid the time. We don't need to prove that we are machos riding our broncos through the Wild West.

No, it is not pleasant. I was at dinner tonight in Guangzhou at a very respectable restaurant and one drunken patron decided it was time to trash the laowei. Well, he didn't get far. I simply ignored him and ignored him and we actually had a pleasant dinner.

Remember, if you are in room and two Chinese start to fight, even if you had nothing to do with it and if the police are called, the Chinese will be exonerated if if their hands are bloody and the weapon is still in their hands and you will be arrested and the entire bar will swear on their collective grandmothers' good names that you carried all kinds of weapons and that you provoked the fight and that you are a known criminal in the area. When there is trouble and if it doesn't concern you, make as gracious and quick as exit as possible. If it concerns you, you need to decide whether or not it is worth the battle and the PSB and what the consequences might be. This is not the most pleasant country to be served tea-and-crumpets in jail.

And yes, Jeff, it happens. More than two years ago two female American teachers were murdered in southern Hunan and it just about took the intervention of the White House to ensure that some kind of justice took place (and I am not sure that it ever did).

That's my advice to all of you. And for those Yanks on the Board,you may to obtain a copy of the Special Consular Warning.


HFG

[7969]

[HunanForeignGuy]

I made mention of the Special Consular Warning that went out last week to United States citizens and it was to those denizens on this Board that my comments were addressed.

Once again, I do not concur with the opinions contained in the previous message. The statistics are not mine; they actually emanate from the both the United States Consulate in Guangzhou and the United States Embassy in Beijing and they speak of brawls on a level that neither have seen before.

One may wish to consider that had this not been the case, neither the Consulate nor the Embassy would have seen fit to issue such a warning. It is not through the eyes of one singular person that a country can be adjuged to safe or crime-free nor it is through the eyes of one singular critic that the country can be adjuged to crime-ridden.

Both of these bodies collect statistics based upon the number of consular interventions that have taken place, and if in their humble opinion they have adjuged the situation to be worth setting forth to other citizens of their country, then I for one will at least read their warning and give it due consideration.

[SnoopBot]

These things are rising and we had a discussion about this at my university last year.

The income gap is rising, and with the new quest of riches and the broken concept of the iron rice bowl many are left behind. Anger is below the surface in many of the Chinese men right now that have NOT seen any of the new wealth. Many will never marry either.

Add alcohol, a foreigner with a pretty Chinese girl next time him = the match.

The Gini index, the ratio between the rich and poor is rising to dangerous levels with thousands of acts of violence and protest happening each week all over China connected with the wealth gap.

I feel the foreigner becomes the focal point for this rage. It could be worse we could be Japanese.

What is easier to do if your seething with rage and anger?

1. Protest the government and end up in a gulag?

2. Fight with police and end up in the gulag

3. Fight with the local rich Chinese guy who has guanxi and end up in the gulag

4. Punch the nearest foreigner and have nothing happen to you.

If you study Chinese history you will see a pattern of abuse directed towards the average people concerning money and power. They have a certain set threshold that this abuse is tolerated. Once that threshold is exceeded the Chinese rise up and replace the dynasty or government. This happens very quickly with the whole population exploding all at once with violence.

During the pre-phases of revolution, foreigners are beat, later killeed and finally rounded up and killed. You can study the Boxer rebellion of 1900 to see that the same reasons in 1900 are the same reasons of today. Foreigners were blamed for the failures of government and the conditions of the peasant classes.

Has anyone ever wondered why non-Chinese groups never have had a real establishment in China for the last 5000 years (exception of HK which could be defended)

Every period of turmoil the foreigners were forced to flee or were systematically executed by roving gangs.

If things get worse between the "Have me's and the Not's" you will see the violence directed toward foreigners at epidemic levels.

All bets are off after the Olympics when China doesn't need to actively pursue these crimes. They still need to keep the image levels up to cash in on the Olympics, wait till it's over.

[jwbhomer]

Foreigner goes to bar street/chicken street, gets beaten/robbed... This is news? This could happen anywhere, even in America.
And what does it have to do with teaching? How is this "job-related"?

[7969]

[bdawg]

[randyj]

Not bar-related, but violence in Quanzhou nonetheless, as reported in the July 13 issue of SCMP:

"Hundreds of students rioted after a graduation ceremony at a private college in Fujian in protest at expensive fees and a lack of recognition of their qualifications, a local resident and a human rights group said yesterday. "

The school was Yang En.

[ymmv]

[jeffinflorida]

I have been to Yang En and was quite impressed with the school.

A foreign teacher there died recently in a motorcycle crash. she didnt wear a helmet.

[jeffinflorida]