Tag: security

Travel tidbits: security

Having traveled in China and Taiwan for the first time since 2020, I have some thoughts. The past 4,5 weeks showed me many things that remain the same, have changed hugely or did not notice as much before. I will put some of these into words in my next few posts.

This time around, it definitely felt like security was increased. Especially at the metro stations and in the metro as well. Guards were more actively checking up on substances, items and eating in the metro. Traffic lights with cameras were more common, snapping shots of jaywalkers. And identification was necessary way more often than before.

Security was also the aspect that set Beijing apart the most clearly. Of course it did not help that we were there at the tail end of the national holiday, which naturally meant increased security and guards around the Forbidden City and Tian’anmen Square. But I did not expect my boyfriend to be held back because they found some of his (work) papers suspicious(?). I guess it was a good thing the Chinese for ‘patent’ did not come up in my head immediately, since that probably would not have helped the case.

Anyway, I did not think the already quite performative security could be pushed even further. I guess it did not really surprise me that much, and only in Beijing did they have guards walking around in metro carts. I was surprised that one of them told me I was not allowed to eat, but it comforted me that nobody batted an eye when I finished my corn after he got off.

Security at metro stations did increase though, and was a bit more strict. Liquid checks were quite common in all cities, almost always being asked to take a sip or occasionally having my bottle being put on a machine that probably identified it as safe. We were also asked more specifically about ‘dangerous objects’ such as pocket knives, which my boyfriend ended up packing in the top of his backpack for easy access. At the same time, anytime we needed to show or prove something, the guards seemed kind of at a loss at what was supposed to happen next. Even my excuses were often not listened to and they seemed to just let us go with the knowledge that checking us was the most important.

I was surprised however, how much we had to identify ourselves this time around. Granted, Chinese IDs have become more ubiquitous as convenient, personalized ways to gain access to all sorts of attractions. At the same time, the system was a lot less seamless for foreign passport holders, so we spent some time with guards looking over our shoulder as we filled out perfunctory forms that did not generate QR codes for us, and holding up our passports to get entry if we could not scan.

Lastly, I received some additional scrutiny at the customs border almost every time we passed. Granted, I have about 5 expired Chinese visa and about 25 stamps in random order in my passport so that confusion is fully understandable. However, it also seems that some of my information was not always available (like the Chinese name I used when living in China) or that my passport could for some reason not be scanned. I was happy however to not get questioned about the quirky combination of a Chinese face and Dutch passport.

In the end, China definitely interprets and carries out security quite differently than we tend to view it in the West. Where we may specifically add guards under certain circumstances, in China they are present in many places, but often asleep. Something my boyfriend also notices about many of the police officers he spotted. There may be 6 security guards at the metro entrance, but 2 of them are looking at their phone and the other 4 are almost fighting to get to tell the passengers what to do or to scan them. The fact that perfunctory security measures still seem to be the focus, at least in the big cities and for the general population, is a postive. Relatively.

Hidden unemployment in plain sight

So, there are a lot of things you learn in high school that you never use afterwards. For geography, which was one of my weak subjects, this might actually count a bit less. It is quite useful to know about Pangea and why Dutch soil is weak and why exactly Amsterdam is built on stilts.

But in daily life, I do not think or wonder too much about these things. Something that is very relevant though, is the concept of hidden unemployment. I have already mentioned and experienced enough that efficiency is not held up to the highest standards in my country (watch my washing machine saga unfold and be surprised). This is because with all these people around, we need to give them something to do. Even though it makes no sense or could be done better, faster, stronger by a machine.

I am putting aside the tedious factory work that is still making a living for many people around here. But let us take a look at the slightly less depressing examples of hidden unemployment you encounter on a daily basis here.

1. Parking meters: I do not think I have ever actually seen a parking meter in China. For parking garages, the West of course also still uses human labor as well. You could argue that having people do this work on the streets, provides some slight benefits. They can yell at you to possibly make parking your car easier (or not), perhaps you can bargain for a slightly lower price (probably against the rules) and they can keep an eye out for your car (if they are not sleeping or talking or otherwise not paying attention). Another thing that makes it almost nostalgic to encounter these parking fee people is that you often can only pay cash. Perhaps that is their most important function, preserving a link to the past.

2. Security guards: Sure, the soldiers outside the embassy gates look slightly menacing, those probably would serve some kind of purpose in any event. But with all the security cameras in this country (apparently some 20 million throughout the country) you might think hiring some extra people to make security extra inefficient is unnecessary. Of course you would be wrong. The most fun parts of my day are sometimes walking into building where I am clearly not supposed to be (I explain this technique in more detail here) past a sleeping, talking or otherwise clearly not paying attention security guy and walking right out past him within 10 minutes. But perhaps, they are meant to serve as a secretly rebellious example. That as a security guard, you can be on duty, and probably being filmed as well, without actually doing it. Or even more so, with doing the opposite.

3. Cleaners: It is amazing how much there is being cleaned in this country. Not necessarily with the goal of it actually becoming clean, but merely the act. On the streets there are sweepers on every corner with just a broom and dustpan, then you have the slgihtly cooler sweepers who have their own little garbage trucks and you also have the people in those automated street sweepers. And the streets are also being sprayed once in a while. You have people sweeping streets with dry mops, with water machines to clean the pavement, dusting of handle bars and fences. The end result is a cleaner street than you would expect, but not an environment as clean as you would hope. This might be because sweeping up leaves is not actually cleaning up anything. Or because people keep throwing trash in places that are not trashbins. Or because almost half of the cleaners seem to be 50/60/70+ years old.

In the end, we can argue how much use any of our jobs have. In this sense, China delivers a healthy reminder daily that most of us do not really matter that much. A message, that incidentally fits the Chinese dream quite well.