More events today and some more on yesterday’s hullabaloo.
The landlords were all agitated about the upcoming destruction of the fishpond scheduled for today. We planned to stand arm in arm, old people in front, women second and men in the back (seriously). They called as many papers as they had numbers for. We waited, some police showed up and then left for lunch. It rained and everyone went home. A few hours later, totally unnoticed, the fishpond was torn out. Not a policeman or complaining landlord in sight. Yea, pretty anticlimactic to be sure.
Now more from yesterday (the action!).
Before the police showed up at the front gate they showed up at the complex’s security office. They turned off all the cameras, all the external power and removed all the (privately employed) security guards from the offices. According to the guards they pushed, dragged and otherwise bullied the guards out of the offices by force. The previously not-so-helpful security guards have been great for the last 24 hours–even giving us video of the police that they took from security stations on the roofs and gardens of the complex.
After the police left about 12 noon all was quite. But the landlords here had a series of meetings to determine what to do next. They came up with a couple of options. One, flood the media with the news–problem is, no reporters in SZ really wants to touch it and foreign papers aren’t interested until there is blood in the water. So…I’ll keep posting here. Option two is to petition the government each and every day with the maximum allowed “group” of 5 people. (That’s right. Groups of more than 5 people are illegal–so watch out next time you have a NBA Finals/World Cup/Super Bowl party in your living room.) Since these two strategies have help us so much so far, I’m not holding my breath.
I have to admit that the government knows how to kow people into submission–this is has been practiced into a fine art. Incremental encroachment and unpublicized events are a great way to keep most people out of the loop. Having major events in the middle of the work week and surrounded by (massive) police presence insures that the fewest possible people will be around and those that are will not dare to do much if anything.
They were very systematic in advancing (edited verb here) on the complex too. They blocked roads that were only internal to external access, they dug up roads in specific locations to make sure that no one from the outside could get in, they fenced off more area then they previously said they needed and made sure to pad-lock gates, they parked all the trucks in the only remaining access road, and posted scores of police at each of the four gates.
The show of force yesterday did exactly what it was supposed to do–get people out of the way for the real dirty work today (and in the days to come). But seeing it logically doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. I’m still a bit tee’d off that they would send that many police and surround the complex–apparently they had dogs too. There is a nursery school and hundreds of families (with kids and grandparents) living here. Did they really need to be that intimidating to people who have very few if any options for retaliation?
The good news is that the guys who where arrested yesterday AM were released with out a charge against them yesterday afternoon. No surprise and it confirms what I thought about yesterday–arresting a foreigner (for nothing) would probably do more (PR) harm then good.
Calls to two well-known and experienced law firms again proved fruitless as each of them basically said: if the local lawyers and reporters won’t touch this, you’re probably SOL. One went so far as to say that SZ is not nearly as, um, law-abiding as Shanghai or Beijing and we should probably be careful about making too much noise.
Now some joe-on-the-street analysis.
1. The police that showed up today were much less interested in arresting people and even offered to help make a small gate in the wall. Not compensation by any means but clearly new directions from above. For the demolition of the fishpond (scheduled for today) they only sent 5-10 policemen too. They even brought an engineer who coordinated the (cosmetic) adjustment of some fences to make it easier for people to walk to the market. The benevolent dictator–once the peons are in their place gifts from above excuse the prior cruelty.
2. Chinese know the rules for group engagement with the police. It’s a coordinated dance, much like negotiations between countries and even companies, with give and take and specific lines and roles that are to be respected and followed. For example, yelling at police is fine, as long as you also do what they ask. The police pushing people out of the way is what happens, but abusing people is going too far. Taking photos of groups is one thing, but singling out individuals is specifically forbidden (anonymity in China comes in being part of a group).
The more I think about this the more I realize that this is learned group behavior that you don’t get in reading books about China. In the few confrontations that I’ve been in in China I’ve realized after each one that there were rules and that I usually had crossed the (invisible) line at some point without noticing it. Some times people have pointed it out to me later. Other times, like yesterday, I realize that I’m the only one standing in the middle of the street.
3. Chinese groups still respect seniority over good ideas.
4. It was very interesting to hear people talk about the distinction between the government and the ‘bad’ individuals that were causing the problems. The group singled out most often was the police–but it was as if the Chinese were more disappointed than angry that they, as protectors of the people, would condescend to being used as thugs for ‘corrupt officials.’ I was more than a little surprised by this selective attitude–and it certainly was not held by all in the meetings. Indeed more than a few of the people in attendance were not nearly so willing to give the “government” a free ride.
5. As a foreigner, I was given an inordinate amount of respect. This is something that was unexpected. Sure Chinese are usually very polite, but in a situation like this would a “foreigner” in the EU or US be treated “special?” No way. Mostly because you can’t tell who’s foreign like you can here–I was the ONLY non-Chinese in a group of 4-500 people. I stood out a bit.
6. I don’t know how to protest in China and really don’t want to lose my ability to do business here. I hope that there isn’t an update on this topic sometime later this year.
7. Police coming and going all day–more than a bit unnerving. Have you ever been surrounded by hundreds of police? Have you ever walked back to your house and seen, around the corner another 50-100 policemen hiding in the bushes? The fact that people are more powerful that laws here makes the presence of police even more scary. The power play worked, it rattled a lot of people.
8. People are angry about two things. First that what was done was not “fair” or legal. This is in my mind the legitimate reason for complaining-illegal, that is. Not unfair. There is a legal clause in the Chinese constitution that gives private people the right to own property. There is also a clause for eminent domain, but there is legal precedent and other laws that give people rights here in China.
The second thing is that there isn’t much that anyone can do. The helplessness is indeed maddening. Getting sucker punched is physically painful, but knowing that it could happen again at any time without warning and without just cause is emotionally disturbing.
Finally, in talking with other Chinese about this I find it odd that they are genuinely embarrassed by it. It’s not “them” or anyone that they elected. But the fact that it’s China and they are Chinese and this is happening to foreigners (or that foreigners are seeing it happen to other Chinese) is taken more personally, I think, than I would take things done by the LA City government/police, for example. The identification as part of China is personal to many–for both good and ill.
Tags: China, Culture, Politics, Thailand by david
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