In China: Travel with Precautions

-Issues with China-

If you are scheduling a trip to somewhere for any reason, you should take precautions that I implore for your own safety. Knowing that you are going to explore regions that you are not familiar with should develop the idea that traveling alone implies danger. Knowing how to navigate around China should be your top priority of planning your visit. China is a dangerous region to visit because it is notorious for its very high population, very low wages for labor. And because of this, people become pushed to taking risks for extra income such as taking your belongings, your organs, and your identity.

-Never let your guard down-

Let’s say for instance that you arrived at the Beijing airport and you are just amazed by what exists on the other side of the world. As you listen to the different dialogues of the Chinese language and observe some form of transaction made between a Chinese tea shop and a man, you are also involved in a transaction between you and a thief. Thieves in China are not ordinary thieves that you encounter in countries such as the United States of America and the like with guns. The thieves in China have a great deal of expertise with chopsticks since they have used them for so many years. The reason why chopsticks are of convenience to the thieves is because they are thin and have a long reach! A pair of chopsticks entering your pockets as opposed to a hand which is much larger makes a big difference. As it is thoroughly shown on this report of a thief named Wang Honbo had used chopsticks to steal a lady’s phone [2^nd video]. As you may have noticed, the lady is riding her bike even after the incident has occurred. Moreover, the report goes on to another case involving chopsticks with “two dark-coated men” whom have also used chopsticks to pickpocket. To elaborate, reach is important when stealing because the human eye can only see so much that their peripheral vision is not able to notice two thin sticks from below and behind. Pickpocketing with chopsticks is an art that can be followed by, simply, most Chinese or, much broadly, Asian people because their culture frequently uses chopsticks as the United States frequently uses with forks and spoons. Although, only a few people have been caught on film, allow me to note that this was not caught on film by the government; it was filmed by casual people, for chopsticks are used by most if not all Chinese people meaning the equal amount can end up pickpocketing in non-urban areas.
-Intensification-

According to the research conducted by World Population Review, China makes up 19% of the world’s total population numbering 1,392,472,656. This is crucial to know because this is the cause of a great lack of resources. In terms of the medical side of this country, “nearly 1.5 million Chinese patients require transplants each year but only 10,000 legally approved transplants take place.” This surprising ratio of those that are accepted to those who are not is extremely comparable. Because so many are not accepted, you can see why organ trafficking is a major issue within the country of China. There have been many rumors [aren’t always true] about Chinese adults kidnapping teens in its neighboring countries to sell their organs in the black market because teens have, supposedly, good health. In conclusion, people of China seek urgent help on the medical side because of the lack of resources. Organ trafficking is the illegal way of substituting for the lack that they have with organ transplants. Recently, according to CNN and NewYorker, a boy has his eyes gouged out by a his aunt [Zhang] in the Shanxi province of Northern China: “he saw that there were only pits where his son’s eyeballs should have been”  which indicates to us that people are wanting to benefit from utilizing organs to the black market for additional income or perhaps, as a new profession.      The article continues: “According to China’s Ministry of Health, some 1.5 million people continue to wait for transplants” which further indicates the critical need for organs in China, the reason behind this unlawful behavior of the people. This is a precaution that you should have to note that you should be aware of your surroundings and not travel alone without protection. You could be the next victim of organ trafficking so always look out for suspicious people and escape routes.