At last year's Canton Fair (2007), I saw some locals chase and tried to beat up a European couple in the presence of the police. After asking around, here's the background story.
Apparently the European couple were con-men (a man and a woman) who cheated the Chinese by ordering some goods and not paying for it. This time round, the couple was spotted at the Fair again and the police were called in. What I saw was someone who looked like the company boss, appearing on the scene and trying to grab the European guy from police custody and trying to beat him up. The policemen were doing everything they can to calm down the business owner.
I remarked to my Chinese friend beside me that since the police are here, the Chinese should let them do their job. My Chinese friend said the businessman had every right to beat up the Europeans. She said: "If you were cheated of lots of money, you would do the same, too."
I strongly disagreed with using violence no matter how justified it is but apparently my views differ from the locals. What do you think?
Foreigners, especially those from countries like Canada, the US, Australia and Europe, must put aside all of our notions about the role of the police in society. Unlike the Chinese, we live by the rule of law, which provides police protection to everyone, with the implication that the police are not the judge and jury. If you assault someone, from the above mentioned countries, you are likely to be facing criminal charges yourself, so as the "victim", you will have been robbed and now you may also go to jail, or pay fines, for having taken matters into your own hands. Just ask O J Simpson how this works.