China dangerously safe?

I have recieved quite a lot of enquiries from friends and family about China, and some have included the issue of safety, crime and so on. Arriving in Shanghai, a reallly big city by any standards,  I ,  (and i suspect a lot of other foreigners) tended to put up my guard as is natural when one is in a foreign place or any place really.

I've been in Shanghai for over a year now, and i gotta say I am still shocked or rather let me say impressed, at the apparent nonchalant attitude of Shanghainese towards crime . I mean i've seen ladies walking alone at three in the morning on empty streets holding hand bags or even talking on their cellphone. I've seen guys staggering on the street at hours beloved to criminals. I've walked past a group(s) of guys in the middle of the night at secluded streets, and nothing has ever happend. Out here it seems late night strolls anywhere and anytime are a common thing.

Sure enough there is a certain degree of police presence, but only at road junctions, and it seems they are there for traffic violaters more than anything. Come to think of it i don't think i've ever observed any police foot patrols.

Pickpocketting seems to be the only crime that people experince here.

The locals i've talked to however differ with me. They feel my perceptions of Shanghai as a foreigner are real, but for Chinese, it's a totally different story. They tell me that crime is very much a living creature in Shanghai, however, criminals seem to delibarately avoid targeting foreigners...hmmm,  I suppose a thank you would be inappropriate!

In spite of the fact that i don't have any crime statistics to make comparisons, I still feel the prevailing attitude of Shanghainese allows one to conlude that crime, especially the violent kind that keeps people indoors is pretty low.

 Yes, Shanghai is probably the safest city i've lived in, nonetheless, acting stupid is outa the question!!

Yes, China, China is safe,

I have been living here for allmost a year, and I cannot believe how safe it is here.

This is why, instead of doing crime to make a living, they will work, and they can work, or do something to earn a honest living. The poeple here respect and at times fear the Police. The possesion and sale of any firearm is illegal. Any crime commited against a foreighner gets double or triple the punishment, than if commited against a Chinese. They allso have the death penalty.

This is truly paradise on earth as far as my personal safety goes, especially if you compare it, to my beloved South Africa. If you go to www.crimexposouthafrica.org, you will realise how safe China realy is.

I love China because they do not tolerate crime. Why can't they do it in South Africa.

Enjoy China.

That's true.  In many foreign countries, foreigners often more easily become the targets of criminals.  But in China it appears the opposite.  Chinese has a tendency of separating foreigners from Chinese, and many of them have a "natural" fear or admiration for foreigners.  Nonetheless, although personally I haven't encountered a crime in China, I'd still suggest that foreigners take reasonable alertness, especially in big cities.  The newspaper says the crime rate is on the rise, and I can see the reason as people are becoming more mobile and neighborhoods are changing fast due to the economic boom.

One very good aspect about the China, I'm always proud to say to my foreign friends, is that you can go out anytime during the night without feeling much concerns for your safety.  For girls, however, we don't advise them to go out alone during the night.

And in a way, this taken-for-granted safety may not do good when I travel to foreign countries.  I enjoy traveling alone, especially to some remote and adventurous places.  I always have a dream of spending three months backpack traveling in the entire African continent.  It seems I do need to take necessary cautions when my travel does happen in the future.

Yes, China, China is safe,

I have been living here for allmost a year, and I cannot believe how safe it is here.

This is why, instead of doing crime to make a living, they will work, and they can work, or do something to earn a honest living. The poeple here respect and at times fear the Police. The possesion and sale of any firearm is illegal. Any crime commited against a foreighner gets double or triple the punishment, than if commited against a Chinese. They allso have the death penalty.

This is truly paradise on earth as far as my personal safety goes, especially if you compare it, to my beloved South Africa. If you go to www.crimexposouthafrica.org, you will realise how safe China realy is.

I love China because they do not tolerate crime. Why can't they do it in South Africa.

Enjoy China.

NERO

I think it was Chinua Achebe who said, to criticise one's country is a sign of patriotism. The kind of criticism he was refering to was the constructive type, the kind that seeks positive solutions to existing problems. South Africa like any country is far from perfect. There are comparitively high incidents of crime, however one must be careful when dealing with the issue of crime . High crime statistics can be intepreted in different ways. To the  pessimist they are a simple indication of high incidents of crime, while to others, they indicate a high rate of reporting of criminal occurances, and therefore a sign that the public has faith in the criminal justice system.

The website u have refered us to doesnt seem to have any clear direction, it is nothing else but pointless criticism. The site administrators are bent on potraying South Africa as a war zone, where there is total break down in law and order and people are busy looting and killing each other. I have lived in South Africa, I have friends who live in South Africa the image this website potrays about the country is bull manure. Here is why:

If i designed a website about China for example, and posted gory pictures of dead victims of violent crime, along with accounts of people who have been traumatised by crime, anybody checking out the website would conclude that China is a mine zone.
The Crime Expo site seems to be seeking this goal, they are indirectly asking for sanctions against South Africa by scaring away foreign investment. I am also not surprised to find that most contributers are white, just check out the pictures of murder victims.

A few weeks ago the Afrikaans BEELD newspaper published an article claiming that Fifa has reservations about South Africa hosting the world cup, to the extent that they wanted to give Australia the mandate. Fifa and the South African football federation dismissed this nonsense.This was yet another attempt at sabotage.

South Africa like any country has it's problems, no one wants to deny that, but it is clear there are fifth column operations by a few members of the white Afrikaaner community who want to see the country fail under a black government.