Social Phenomenon in China

In Guangzhou (广州), a work unit was responsible for inspecting all passing pig-carrying vehicles. If dead pigs were found, members of the unit had to immediate bury them, as well as thoroughly wash and sanitize the vehicles.

But as it turned out, the dead pigs were not buried. Instead, they were taken away to be cut up and sold. And not only did the unit not wash the affected vehicles, it even set up auxiliary "pig-processing facilities" to "process" the dead pigs.

In Henan (河南), an inspector was responsible for ensuring that all vehicles had the proper labels and registrations. But the job was also a means for him to line his wallet by nitpicking on passing vehicles. In one case where no fault could be found, he even issued a ticket for "violating planned birth" (or having a child without official approval) to an unmarried 19-year old male.

In Sichuan (四川), villagers deliberately dug holes on expressways and waited by the roadside. When unknowing vehicles fell into and were trapped in those holes, they would render their "services." For a fee, of course.

In Hebei (河北), an official in charge of a county's power generator was upset that a performing troupe had not given him the best tickets for an opening performance. In retaliation, he ordered the disruption of the electricity supply during the performance.

In Shanghai (上海), a group of "freelancers" found an innovative way to make a living. They did this by occupying booths in public toilets located in busy areas for several hours a day. They would of course "surrender" their booths when necessary, usually to those who urgently needed to use to toilets. Again, for a small fee of 2 RMB.

In Chongqing (重庆), in order to ensure they obtain seats, adults tossed their infants through the bus windows.

While in Beijing (北京), two public telephones located in a graduate school building were so frequently stolen that after a while, the phone company simply refused to re-install them. So for those who had to make phone calls, they'd have to bring their own telephone sets. They'd plug the sets in, make their calls, unplug the sets, and then bring the sets home.

These depressing anti-social accounts and more could be found in Xie Sizhong's (解思忠) 国民素质忧思录 (A Chronicle of Worries and Contemplation about the Caliber of Our Citizens, 香港三联书店, 1998).