A thief, me, and the PSB (Public Security Bureau)

Suddenly, everything that I had read about and experienced in China gelled into a one brief moment of enlightenment: I understood clearly what was really going on around me. Thank you Buddha.

A foreigner had been robbed in their area of responsibility, and embarrassing questions would be asked by their superiors. Institutional cultural imperatives as well as traditional cultural imperatives were guiding the behaviour of these investigators.

Now I understood why the officer had remarked earlier, “Dammit, this will mean trouble for us”.

This nondescript little police station on the outer reaches of institutional power was in self-protection mode. Someone would have to be punished for this embarrassing incident.

In China, the most important person in a government officer’s universe is his immediate superior. This little emperor can make life really miserable for his subordinates if he wants to. And he frequently does. Further, long and bitter experience has taught Chinese people to be fearful of, and subservient to all dictators: from the petty bureaucrat at the bottom (he is the worst), to the bigger guys at the top. So they have learned how to adapt to this hostile environment. One trick is to avoid responsibility for anything, and pass the buck if you can. Finding a scapegoat is even better. This way one can’t be punished if something goes wrong.

And when necessary, lie through your teeth. China’s totalitarian system teaches its young how to lie. The habit is acquired early in one’s career, and is accepted as normal behaviour. It is justified by example, and promoted as a culturally acceptable means of self-protection.

Fear of a career-inhibiting black mark in one’s file was causing panic in the hearts of these small fish at the bottom of China's food-chain. These officers would do anything to demonstrate to their superiors that they could be trusted to protect the state against any threat. No matter how absurd, trivial, or unlikely.

Investigating a foreigner would be one way to do this. Investigating the Chinese wife (a cultural traitor?) of a foreigner would be better still. Ready made scapegoats.

Add a dose of political paranoia and racial suspicion to the mix; keep asking questions to keep your victims off-balance; and you might find a career-enhancing nugget of information that could be deliberately misinterpreted and used to advantage. That's how you do it.

What a flash of helpful insight. Thank you again, Buddha.

What then?

It was time to get out of this snakepit.