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Dongguan - A Place We Love to Hate, or Hate to Love - Pt 1

Rants and Raves: a reader's commentary on experience in New World Gardens

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Be Careful Out There!

Recent events in my family have reminded me that even though Dongguan is a relatively safe place to be, particularly the Dongcheng area, petty crimes against persons and  property do take place.    

Also, considering the opening of places like Ole’,  Kingdom Plaza,  Global Plaza, the soon to open Moon Plaza, and the nearness of Dongcheng Buxinjie, there will be more pedestrian traffic of our expat community in the area.   

I’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of some practical guidelines for personal safety as you traverse the area on foot. 

• Be aware of your surroundings.  Petty criminals act on the element of surprise and will try and attack when their victims least expect it.  Be aware of who is in front of you, next to you and behind you.   Chinese have a smaller "personal comfort zone" and will tend to stand closer to you than you would normally expect.  The perpetrator may be well dressed.  Both crimes I've witnessed, the perp looked like a businessman, either wearing a suit coat or a necktie.
• Travel in pairs or small groups.  There is safety in numbers.
• Don’t have with you more than you can afford to loose.  Sad fact, but probably it’s not a matter of if you will get mugged, but when.  Keep the number of credit cards, money, and identification with you to a minimum.  I carry small amounts of cash, an expired US driver’s license, and a local bank ATM card, and the account doesn’t have all that much money in it.  The newest and fanciest cell phone on the market is nice, but damn expensive when it’s stolen.
• Keep track of your belongings.  Don’t set them down unattended for any reason.
• When in restaurants, be mindful of items left in jackets hanging on the backs of your chairs.  We were at one reputable restaurant  one evening when someone got his jacket pocket picked, the thieves got his month’s salary and his cell phone.  Not pleasant watching a grown man cry.
• Carry purses close to you, wallets where they can’t be gotten to easily. 
• Any time there is a motorcycle or motor scooter on the sidewalk, be careful.  The usual modus operandi is ride by snatch and grab.  Have seen this happen in broad daylight, and the perpetrators were dressed as business people, down to the dress clothes and neckties.  The experienced thieves will use the purse to cover the license plate of the bike or scooter, if there's one at all.
• DO NOT RESIST!!  If someone grabs your purse, let them have it.  Most likely they’re on a motorbike, and if you don’t let go you will probably be drug along the street.  Also, perpetrators on foot may be carrying knives or other weapons.  Here in China it’s illegal to carry self defense items such as pepper spray or stun guns.  When such items are outlawed, only the outlaws have them.
• Don’t expect help.  Not from the locals, they will not get involved.  The local cops might, but I wouldn’t count on them being much help other than taking a report.  Just like in U.S.

In closing, overall the local people here are honest and hard working,  but when you have a city with over 6,000,000 transient inhabitants, you are bound to get a certain amount of criminal element,  so one should be on their guard.   

Bob Szabolcsky