Though motorbike taxis are illegal, they are ubiquitous except for temporary crackdowns. Though the raves were against the rules, they were advertised publicly for four years before any action was taken and there will be more publicly advertised raves that police ignore next year.
Electric bicycle deliveries are also illegal in many cities, but are tolerated because the new economy would completely collapse without them. Ride sharing was illegal for a long time until recently, but allowed to flourish until the laws caught up (well, beyond some selective prosecution). The sex industry is huge in China and mostly tolerated, or even partially run, by local police forces, and only disappears temporarily during central gov mandated crackdowns.
I don't really understand your point. Not every speeder in the US are caught. Would you say the police doing temporary crackdowns is not a good thing?
We should celebrate the police here for doing a good job trying to uphold law and order. Perhaps if they had more resources they could go after the other cases of lawbreaking mentioned, not as part of the main story, in the article.
The point is the inconsistent enforcement of laws. And you can be assured that if someone was wealthy enough, the laws don't apply to them. I think that's what the author was talking about when he said 25 people who had tested positive for drugs were let go and not held. They were probably connected somehow, or paid a bribe. China is an incredibly corrupt country where bribes are standard practice. (Source: Bribes the Unspoken Rule in China: http://www.forbes.com/sites/richardlevick/2015/01/21/new-dat... and Corruption Index: https://www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results )
Moreover, their inconsistent enforcement of the law is why they have such a shitty environmental record/problem. China has laws on the books regarding pollution and the environment comparable to that of the U.S believe it or not. But they do not enforce any of them. They don't have the equivalent of the EPA who's sole job it is to go after offenders. Some inspector shows up wanting to see your carbon scrubbers on your exhaust towers? "Oh, I must have forgot your birthday, here's a wad of cash. See you next year." I witnessed something shockingly similar to that happen on a plant tour in 2013. I was dumbfounded and speechless. The plant manager thought it was a big joke.
I have nearly 2 dozen unique stamps in my passport over the last 15 years. China is the only stamp I will never have a duplicate of. I've been to some pretty bad areas and countries and China's wasn't "I fear for my safety bad", well, if I'm being honest it was a little, but I like that. It's exciting. No, it was "Holy crap this culture is complete backwards and toxic." People care very little about their fellow man/neighbor and I was disgusted by it. It seemed like everyone was trying to pull a scam on everyone else. I felt slimy watching it happen.
> ...25 people who had tested positive for drugs were let go and not held. They were probably connected somehow, or paid a bribe.
There are plenty of perfectly rational reasons why one might test positive for drugs but not be held.
In the US, at least, your levels must be high enough that they are unambiguous when factoring in margin of measurement error, but any amount is enough to get a warrant or have just cause to search your person/vehicle.
Alternatively, I take a prescription medication which causes me to test positive (hilariously high actually) on some drug tests. I carry my prescription and doctor's note on a prescription pad whenever I travel, and it's not that uncommon.
Jumping straight to corruption is unfairly stereotyping China, which, though it may have a problem, has many more honest cops/prosecutors than dirty ones.
> Jumping straight to corruption is unfairly stereotyping China, which, though it may have a problem, has many more honest cops/prosecutors than dirty ones.
When your country ranks 100th on the world's corruption index, it's not "unfairly stereotyping". It's a fact backed up scientific data and hard evidence. China IS corrupt. No amount of mental gymnastics is going to reason away all the hard evidence. I experienced it first hand, and I'm not some amateur traveler. Again, I've been traveling for the better part of 2 decades.
One of the first steps in correcting any problem is admitting you have one. China, Chinese nationalists and Chinese expats who jump to defend the country on internet message boards like this one and reddit have an impossibly hard time with that first step. It's going to keep China languishing in mediocrity for some time to come.
this is comparable to the police cracking down a club in the soho in ny then arresting everyone because of marijuana. not speeding tickets.
the middle class expect exemption from rules that are normally applied to poor and minorities.
see also how in the usa someone can be arrested and have money confiscated if they can't prove its origin to the officer searching the car. this is unthinkable for the middle class. but still the law.
this is the right comparison. nobody in China that has the means to participate in those parties expect to be subject to laws against it.
Good point. And the middle class damages itself with their lack of solidarity with the poor and minorities. Because the condition of the poor is the threat which keeps the middle class in line.
That's right, police doing temporary crackdowns on this scale, in this manner, and for this purpose is 100% not a good thing. This is not analogous to a speed trap or even DUI checkpoints.
Are you saying that you literally can't think of a single way in which this may have been handled better by the police? If it's not even remotely understood to be illegal by the participants, why the heck would any police force in the world treat it like a honeypot, wait for everyone to assemble (like they apparently have been doing for years), then show up in riot gear and arrest everyone? That's crazy.
By the way, it doesn't matter one bit if something analogous to this happens in the US sometimes, that doesn't make it any better. Not a bit. If this happened in the US people would be just as upset about it. I'm really confused why anyone would respond to something bad happening in China with, "but similar bad things happen in the US sometimes". That's really missing the point. That's like saying that human rights violations in the US somehow excuse human rights violations elsewhere. It's bad no matter where it happens and it doesn't do anyone any good to pretend otherwise.
But it was understood to be illegal. And what kind of an excuse is not knowing the law anyway? I don't understand all this hatred for police doing their job. Is this because of the recent shootings in the US that you respond in such an emotional way?
My analogy contains a crime, just like the real situation. Your analogy somehow tries to make the police enforcing the law in what seems a very reasonable manner correspond to a human rights violation.
There's plenty to criticise the Chinese for. Pick something better to drive your agenda.
