Eric's Beijing Diary

Melissa from the coffee bar let out a scream and came running out from behind the cash register. She rounded the corner and went running down the stairs. It all happened so fast, I couldn't quite take it in.

Melissa is her English name of course. She asked me to give her an English name some time ago, so I named her after you-know-who. Anyway, I quickly moved over to the staircase just in time to see her coming back up the stairs, clutching a large handbag. It belonged to one of her coworkers, and had been sitting behind the register. The thief had started down the stairs, then reached under the railing as he was going down, and grabbed the bag. But Melissa was too quick for him. He dropped the bag and ran.

Violent crime is lower in China, I think, then in America. But petty thievery is rampant in China. Hold on to your wallets. Every year, just before Spring Festival, there are many warnings about thievery. The reason is that sometimes working people do not have enough money to get home for the Spring Festival holiday, and they get desperate. Spring Festival is over now, but I would imagine that it has placed a number of people in difficult straits. The contrast between rich and poor in this country is still far too great for comfort. China's recent move toward a market economy has benefited many millions of people, but there is still quite a disparity between the rich and the poor in this country. I don't want to overstate this, because let's face it, thievery exists everywhere. But somehow, the difference between Beijing and, say, Tokyo, is noticeable. But the difference between Beijing and a city like Chengde is also quite noticeable. It is the big cities that tend to attract the sort of desperate people who throw all principle to the wind and resort to a life of crime.