Crime and Punishment

Several times over the years, various foreigners in Liuzhou have commented on how little crime there is in the city. I always want to ask them how they have arrived at that conclusion without being able to read or understand Chinese. True, crime against foreigners is low (the occasional pick-pocketing and petty theft), but getting any idea of the incidence of crime requires an ability to read and understand the local media. Most of our perception of crime rates comes not from personal experience or hearsay from friends and colleagues, but from the media. And when you don't understand the media, it is easy to assume things don't happen.

I would say that Liuzhou has as much or as little crime as you would expect in a city of around 1,000,000 people. We have our share of thefts, fraud, car crime etc. Recently we have seen the capture of a million in counterfeit bank notes (along with the counterfeiters). From time to time, someone finds themselves beaten or even murdered, usually by friends or family as everywhere else. From time to time, the locals execute people.

A quick scan of today's paper reveals concern over the rising number of hit and run accidents, a government employee is on trial for embezzling money to feed his gambling habits, a couple of  peasants in their 70s take to fighting about a disagreement over logging rights on their land and various drunken drivers get caught, including this pair who fell asleep in the fast lane of the highway. A quiet, normal day.

The occasional foreigner gets caught, too. There is one foreigner, described as being of Middle Eastern origin, serving a long sentence in Liuzhou prison, although his crime - rape - was committed in Nanning. An Australian was recently held in detention for financial irregularities over a proposed joint venture. A few have been deported, mainly for visa violations, but also one for being a drunken violent slob.

Many crimes probably go unreported. Either because they are not interesting and newsworthy enough or because they are being covered up. This could be for political reasons or because the newspapers and reporters have been bought or warned off in one way or another. Also, the Chinese press prefers to run 'good news'. Negative stories are often spiked.

Of course, we also get our share of mindless violence. Here is an example of a case which has never been reported in the Liuzhou media (although there was some mention on local bulletin boards - now removed.)

Shatang is on the northern outskirts of Liuzhou. It is really a small market town serving the local rural population and farming villages. Unemployment is high and, most of the time, groups of young men can be seen hanging around doing nothing much in particular. Same as any small Chinese town.

What marks Shatang out is that it is home to a number of higher education colleges including Guangxi Biotechnology Vocational College, Guangxi Animal Husbandry and Veterinary School and the three campuses of Liuzhou Teachers' College. Outside each college campus there are small restaurants providing simple food at student prices.

The details of this story are hard to come by due to the lack of reportage, but what follows is as told me by more than one member of staff from the various colleges. It is not verifiable to the level I would like but ... 

At some time, two weeks ago, (the precise date and time are not clear) a bunch of students from the Biotechnology College were having an evening meal in one of the small restaurants. They accompanied their meal with a few bottles of beer. As students do.

Sure enough, at some stage one student, in his second year, felt the need to relieve himself. While he was doing so, one of the local lads stood beside him and claimed that the student had splashed him with urine. He said that if the student bought him a pack of cigarettes he would be willing to forget the errant urine. The student refused.

A fight broke out between the students and the local lad and his friends, leaving the urinating student dead and two of his friends in serious condition in the local hospital. The dead students major? Hospitality and Tourism.

The school is desperate to keep this quiet - those enrolment figures (i.e. income) must be kept high and this is not the kind of publicity which attracts new recruits. So nothing has appeared in the official media. Police may or not be investigating.

This is not the first time there has been trouble between town and gown. About a eighteen months ago, a couple of of local youths decided to pick on a student in a restaurant outside the Teachers' College main campus. The student in question was a PE major and a little more than they could cope with. He beat the two of them decisively. They then retreated to their villages to gather reinforcements, returning somewhat later in a minivan with a group of around ten youths. 

These ten very quickly found themselves surrounded by around 100 students from the college PE department and were beaten to a pulp. The vehicle they arrived in was also damaged. When they got out of hospital, the ten arrived at the college demanding compensation for their injuries and for the damage to their vehicle. First they demanded money from the students but were seen off again. Later they turned their attention to the college authorities but were rebuffed.

Resentment lingers, but the locals are unwilling to take on the PE students again. They have earned themselves a reputation which puts off most aggressors.

Finally, let me say that occurrences like these are rare. Most of the time, Liuzhou is friendly and peaceful.

*The story was eventually reported in the local media. At the same town it was annoiubnced that the victim's family had been paid ¥140000 by the perpetrator. Quite how an unemployed villager was able to come up with cash equal to around 25 years of the average rural salary remains a mystery.

tags: liuzhou  china  guangxi  crime  media  violence  

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