Police Action

It's been a long time since I last wrote. My wife and I are quite in the thick of routine, and it doesn't include much time for anything but work, study, seeing a few friends, and us two being together. But I have a moment this afternoon so I'll write a couple of interesting things.

First, I just experienced my first "police raid". Don't get all antsy. It wasn't quite like what you're thinking. Here's what happened.

I was eating lunch with a former student who's applying to grad schools in the States, helping him with some writing. I get a call from a number not in my phone, so it could be anyone. I answer and the lady asks me if I'm home right now, or if I'll be home sometime this afternoon. Normally I have a grueling 4 hr Chinese Philosophy tutor session, but this week there's a guest lecturer for my tutor's major, so we're off. (I may still go to the lecture, it sounds interesting; a Brit is lecturing on various Bible books, today is Acts; it starts in a little over an hour) I say I could be home later, say 1 or 2pm. She says ok, and that's that.

I get a call a few minutes later from a guy saying that 1 or 2 is too late, and can I be there now. Well, obviously I can't be there now, because I'm not there now! But I said I could be there in thirty minutes.

I finish off my food, and the conversation with the student, walk back to the teaching building and grab my bike for a quick ride home. No one is there when I get home, so I call and they say they'll be there soon (in Chinese, mashanglai 马上来; literally it means horse-on-come, but in vernacular it means we'll be there soon - this could mean anywhere from a few minutes to several hours; I'm non-plussed, I still don't know who it is or what they want...).

Just a few minutes later I hear them coming up the stairs. I open the door to see two younger women, two younger dudes with nice cameras, and a very smiley police officer. I recognize him as the officer who oversees our little xiaoqu (小区 'community'). I warmly welcome them in and they crowd into our very very small 'living room' (we still haven't put up pictures or the promised video. My apologies. We don't have the correct equipment to get video off the camera onto the computer, and we haven't gotten around to doing a little grainy photo-camera video - some day...).

He asks to see my wife and I's passports, residence permits, our apartment contract, and our local police registration. I'm very thankful to a friend, Joann, who lives in Beijing and posted a description of a similar experience on her blog. She had all the documents prepared for just such a moment which inspired me to get ours in order. This was done just a couple of weeks ago, and I am SO thankful that it was! I knew where everything was, so I grabbed documents, handing them to Officer Liu.

He proceeded to examine them, one by one, asking me very innane questions like, is this your name, is this your date of birth, where's your residency permit (pretending he couldn't find it himself), is this what you pay for your apartment per month (it's a little expensive!), etc. etc.

With every new document I handed him the photographers were clicking away like mad. They had the full-auto shutters working overtime (out of the corner of my eye I think I saw one of them cameras smoking......)!!! They would hold the camera above our heads, close ups, wide shots, all over. I tried to put on my handsomest smile, and Officer Liu was quite pleased to have his picture taken with me. One of the young women had a clipboard and asked me a few questions like, what's your highest earned degree, and your wife's? and date of birth, etc.

It's the first time I've ever been asked for documents (it's also the first time I've lived in the 'general public'; i.e. - not on school or company campus) and I would have to give two thumbs up.

And I'm so thankful I was prepared. *Thanks Joann!*