How safe do you feel in Guangzhou?
在广州你感觉多安全?
内容简介:一个英国人刚来广州时,听朋友说广州的治安比较乱,很为自己的安全担忧。后来,目睹了一些保安抓小偷的过程后,他认为广州比伦敦还安全。他那些外籍朋友认为广州治安不好的说法很荒谬。现在他把广州当作自己的家了。
When I moved to Guangzhou I noticed many differences with life back home, some that were expected, but others that took me by surprise. One difference that took me back was the level of law enforcement seen on the streets, but not by the usual police constables you would expect to witness, but from local security officers.
当我搬到广州时,我发现和以前的生活有很多的不一样,一些是意料之中的,其他的则令我很惊讶.其中之一是使我回想起以前低水平的法律执行力度,不仅是来自你经常接触的警察,也因当地的治安员.
I had heard from friends that Guangzhou was strife with pickpockets and phones snatchers. This brought up the question of safety in the city streets in the place I intended to call home for the following year. Were my friends and I safe or continually in danger from would be thieves – the latter I just thought to be absurd.
我曾听朋友说过,在广州抢钱包和手机的事几乎比比皆是.这让我提出在这城市的街道上是否安全的疑问,该不该把家安在这里.我和我的朋友会安全吗?或会继续受到小偷的威胁?后来我认为这些想法都很荒唐.
With the vast population in China there are a sheer number of people who seem to just hanging around doing nothing in particular. This can make you feel uneasy, especially when you are a foreigner who creates more glances and stares than most Chinese citizens would encounter. The people looking at me were not aiming to frighten me in anyway; they were just intrigued by the ‘Lao Wai’ on their turf. Although this made me feel slightly uneasy, I realized that I felt safer than when walking the streets back in London, due to the high level of security. In England we take safety for granted, often when it isn’t there. We live wrapped up in our own little world and think nothing can penetrate it. Arriving in China put me back into the real world with the reality of criminals living and walking on the same streets as everyday law-abiding citizens. A closer observation led me to notice the security officers everywhere; I then didn’t know whether to feel safer or intimated by their presence.
中国拥有巨大的人口,有太多人似乎只是游手好闲没有什么特别的事情可做.尤其是当你是一个比一般中国公民更容易偶然引起注视的外国人时,你会感到不自在。但无论如何,那些人看你不是想和你打架,他们只是被在他们地盘的“老外”激起了好奇心。虽然这会使我稍微有点不自在,但因为这里较好的治安,我觉得比走在伦敦的街道上更为安全。在英国我们想理应会安全,但并不是这一回事。我们的注意力完全集中于我们小小的世界里,认为没有什么能穿透它。来到中国,使我回到了现实世界里,因为每一天守法的公民都可能会和罪犯走在同一条街道上。近距离的观察,我发现这里到处都是警察,因此,他们的存在我不知道是觉得更安全还是没隐私。
It led me to the question of who they are and what their obligations and responsibilities were? I asked my Chinese friends if these people had any power or authority over criminals and I felt many of them pondering over the unanswered question.
We did not know whether they were an extension from the police force, especially when there was no unity between them. The officers were fitted in different clothes, some with military combats similar to that of army personnel and others wear smart uniforms, but to confuse us more, these are in a variety of different colors and styles. Often you will see the security guards armed, some with scaffolding poles of varying length, and others with huge hooks, presumably to catch suspects?
让我疑惑的是,这些治安员的权力和义务是什么?我问我的中国朋友是否他们的权力要超过那些罪犯,我觉得他们对这没答案的问题很深思。我们不知道他们是不是警察机关延伸出来的,尤其是他们之间并没有统一之处。治安员的服装很混乱,一些穿着迷彩服和军队人员相似,一些则有整齐的制服,但这使我们更加混乱,因为有各式各样的颜色和款式。经常你会看到全副武装的安<
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