Recently, I believe everyone has seen the news about a Japanese mother and son who were attacked in Suzhou. Sadly, a Chinese woman lost her life while trying to save them, and the local government posthumously awarded her the title of "Model of Courage in Righteousness."
This incident has also sparked discussions about whether China is safe. Especially with the increase in international travel after the pandemic, the number of foreign tourists visiting China is also on the rise, and safety is naturally the primary concern for everyone.
However, on platforms like YouTube, where foreign tourists share their travel experiences, opinions on "whether it is safe to travel in China" are divided: some say China is very safe, while others believe it is not safe enough. In this article, I would like to share my observations on China's safety situation as a foreigner who has lived in China for 12 years and travels frequently.
Due to the introduction of new policies, an increasing number of foreigners are coming to China for short-term travel(Photo source: ICphoto)
Of course, there are certain criteria for measuring whether a country is safe, but the perception of a country's safety is largely related to the amount of information we obtain about that country. Many Chinese friends who want to travel to Turkey have asked me whether Turkey is safe, because the conflicts in the Middle East they see in the news have left them with the impression that Turkey is unsafe. I told them that Turkey is one of the countries that receive the most foreign tourists in the world and has important security mechanisms. In recent years, the number of Chinese tourists going to Turkey has steadily increased, and the prejudice against Turkey's safety has also decreased.
This situation is not limited to Turkey. No one wants to go to a place where they might encounter trouble. One reason why Chinese people pay so much attention to safety is that they live in a very safe environment in their own country. In China, an elderly woman can go to the park for exercise in the early morning without worrying about safety issues. A young girl can leave a bar late at night, call a taxi through a mobile app, and go home alone without worrying. Similarly, young women have a lot of freedom in choosing their attire. Chinese people traveling by high-speed train or plane are not worried about accidents because China's civil aviation safety record is very high.
So, if I had to describe China with one word, I might choose "safe." In China, safety is the premise of everything. Whether starting work or going out for a trip, Chinese people will say "be safe." Safety is one of the important indicators of China's governance. The fundamental goal of the Chinese government is to develop China and bring prosperity, and one of the basic components of China's development is safety. Chinese leaders often say that safety is the foundation of development.
So how should we understand the concept of "safety"?
In English, when we talk about "security," the first thing that comes to mind is police measures and the pressure and control over ordinary people. Therefore, "security" may have a negative connotation in many Western societies, as if it is a reduction of individual freedom, behind which is the conflict between individual freedom and public safety.
But I don't think these two are opposed. We don't have to sacrifice individual freedom for the public interest, nor do we have to suspend individual freedom to ensure the public interest. In fact, individual freedom cannot be guaranteed without public order. I remember at the beginning of the epidemic, some people refused to wear masks, thinking it violated individual freedom, but when everyone was spreading the virus everywhere because they didn't wear masks, it was obvious that individual freedom was out of the question.
It is in China that I have understood the necessity of public interest for expressing individual freedom. One of the best examples of balancing public interest and individual freedom in China is the license plate restriction policy in the capital, Beijing. According to the last digit of the car's license plate, there is one day a week when you can't drive, which can effectively alleviate traffic congestion. I hope to see this rule implemented in Istanbul, but it is unlikely to happen, because if the local government proposes such measures, it may be accused of hindering the freedom of individual travel. As a result, Istanbul's traffic has become a "public suffering" for the sake of "individual freedom"...
When we understand "security" in English as "safety," it is closer to the meaning of the Chinese word "safety." In China, safety is not only a police measure but also a social harmony mechanism, and even a social contract. For the healthy operation of social, economic, and political life, the streets must be safe, the markets must be safe, the environment must be safe, and transportation must be safe.
Chinese police officers carrying out security patrol tasks and intelligent unmanned patrol vehiclesICphoto
During my years in China, I have also benefited from this safe environment. I always appreciate the serious attitude of subway and airport staff towards safety instructions. Whenever there is sidewalk construction or building work, I see meticulous arrangements for the safety of the surrounding environment. In many countries, construction work by local governments may threaten the safety of the surrounding environment. But in China, safety is indeed the primary consideration for everything.
Western media has been deliberately reporting on China's security situation recently. Similarly, the media previously compared the ubiquitous surveillance cameras in Chinese cities to "Big Brother." In the West, surveillance cameras are seen as an infringement on freedom, just like the discussions about wearing masks during the pandemic. When an ordinary American sees a surveillance camera, they might think, "Someone is watching me." But when we see that China's current case resolution rate has reached 99.94%, I think everyone knows how this sense of security is obtained.
This does not mean that there are no accidents in China. It is impossible to completely eliminate accidents, and accidents will always happen for various reasons, but the important thing is to learn from these accidents and take necessary measures to prepare for the future. The Chinese government may be the most proactive government in the world, capable of foreseeing and responding to security risks. In recent years, due to serious accidents and fires caused by the explosion of electric motorcycle batteries, the Chinese government has made various regulations on the charging places for these batteries. In the community where I live in Beijing, the most common safety instructions are about electric vehicle batteries.
I also want to share a memory related to the sense of safety in China. Last year, I parked my car in the opposite direction of the community exit. Soon after, the community security guard came to my door and told me that I should not park the car in the opposite direction. At first, I thought this was meddling. I currently live in a community in Ankara, where no one cares about the direction the car is parked, with some cars facing in and some facing out. Later, the security guard calmly explained that it is more appropriate for all vehicles to face the exit door so as to evacuate quickly in case of a fire. I must admit, I felt a bit embarrassed at that moment.
The only time I felt unsafe during my life in China was in 2011 when a taxi driver tried to give me counterfeit money as change when I was going home from Sanlitun in Beijing at night. But in general, I communicated well with Beijing's taxi drivers and improved my Chinese level through them.
In addition, thanks to the mobile car-hailing applications, there is no need to communicate with the driver about payment or route, the application can handle it for you. Many applications have an English version and can communicate with the driver in English. With your permission, voice recording can be made during the ride. In this regard, I can say that China is the most convenient and safest country in the world for car-hailing. Moreover, through the mobile application, you can see the pick-up and drop-off locations on the map, and taxi drivers have no chance to take you on a detour. (As a small criticism, I think Beijing's commercial taxis need to be a little cleaner. Sometimes I see the interior of the taxi very dirty, full of the smell of smoke.)
For foreign tourists, another important safety factor is the ability to walk comfortably on the streets. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, there have been some recent news about attacks on American and Japanese tourists in Chinese cities, giving people the impression that it is not safe to go to China. I believe these are accidental events. In the 12 years I have lived in China, I have neither witnessed nor experienced such events. I remember at the beginning of the epidemic, due to the wrong information from the Trump administration, there were often attacks on Chinese and Asian people in the United States, but there were no systematic attacks on specific races in China.
In addition, I find that Chinese people do not act more deliberately and indifferent when they are with people from countries with historical entanglements. When you talk to Japanese citizens living in China, you can understand this. Among the foreign restaurants in China, Japanese restaurants are the most numerous, and Chinese people do not hide their love for Japanese food, nor do they have a racist attitude towards Japanese people living in China.
Huaihai Street in Suzhou is known as the "Japanese Cuisine Street."Image source: Network
So when I see debates about whether China is a safe place, I feel very surprised because I'm not sure if there is a safer place in the world than China. In fact, I remember sometimes feeling uncomfortable with this "over-safety." For example, when driving in Beijing, I sometimes want to park the car by the roadside for a short time to quickly go to the market to buy something, but you can't do that in Beijing because Beijing's traffic operates like a machine. After moving to Turkey, I can now turn on the hazard lights and park the car wherever I want, but when everyone does this, traffic becomes unmanageable and inconvenient to others.
What I miss most after leaving China is the life that follows a specific plan and rules that apply to everyone. I suggest that foreign friends who travel to China should first understand the rules of China. As long as you follow the Chinese way of life, you will have a peaceful and comfortable time.
Columnist for the Observer Network, An MoranMedia professional, China expert at the Middle East, Eurasia, and Asia-Pacific Research Platform (ODAP)
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