Lifestyle / Hot Pot Column

Hassled in my home away from homies

By Raymond Zhou ( China Daily ) Updated: 2007-06-07 13:54:42

Ten years ago, I visited Hong Kong for the first time. I was on my way home from New York and was dressed like a typical "boy in the 'hood".

As soon as I was deposited onto a street corner at Central, I was stopped by a couple of cops. Having learned to lock valuables in the hotel safe, I could not produce my passport, but I squeezed out my best-possible Cantonese to explain my dilemma.

Hassled in my home away from homies Unbeknownst to me, I was committing all the faux pas at once. The baggy jeans look had not spread to Asia yet, so I must have seemed like a country bumpkin who could not even afford a regular pair of torn jeans. And my Cantonese screamed, "This guy is from the mainland"!

As a matter of fact, the cops whispered to each other that I must be from Hainan Province, because my Cantonese was so awkward, I couldn't be from the Pearl River Delta.

They turned to me and threatened: "Didn't you illegally emigrate here? If so, we'll repatriate you!"

I was relieved, and told them: "Go ahead. You'll save me the cost of a train ticket".

Afterward, I called up my friend and told him about the incident. He said, "It's not funny. You could get in trouble. You'd better speak English next time."

Sure enough, shortly afterwards, I was stopped again. Heeding my friend's advice, I pretended I did not know a word of Chinese. That really puzzled the Ah Sirs, as cops were known in the soon-to-be SAR of the PRC, and they struggled with their English.

"What do you mean I have to carry my passport? I can leave it with whomever I want. It's my right!"

That day, I was stopped three times by Hong Kong police. I must have looked really out of place.

Five years later, I was shuttling between Hong Kong and Guangzhou on a regular basis. I tried a variation of languages, including bad Putonghua, and nobody gave me the look any more.

On the contrary, whenever I arrived in Guangzhou, I'd notice migrant youths being stopped and checked for ID. I would walk right up to the semi-cops, but they'd never bother me. I thought it was strange, because the young men they harassed were dressed in their Sunday best, while I looked fresh off the boat, dragging my un-LV suitcase and sweating all over.

I told a lawyer friend of mine that I subconsciously wanted to be arrested.

Why should I present my ID to them? If I were arrested for not having a local residency permit, I'd use the chance to do some investigative reporting, and my friend would come to bail me out.

"But you have to know, bad things might happen before I can get to rescue you at the detention center," she pointed out. Then, she described the kind of things she had seen there.

I think she was just scaring me.

I don't understand why Guangzhou cops saw me through and correctly marked me as a city resident. In New York, even Chinese shop owners took me for a Korean. Maybe I should say I'm from Henan and see how Beijingers react.

(China Daily 06/07/2007 page20)