The point of this post was just the success of PR. That is, the perception and the attitudes of the locals towards the police. I have lived in other police countries before, and this is the one where the attitude towards the police is most relaxed. In other places people are either hostile or just very afraid of the police. Even in Europe in some social circles I have seen more hostility towards the police forces than I can see in Shanghai.

@FOARP- Regarding the case you mention of the guy who was executed after killing a few cops. I don’t think the (minority) reactions of some netizens can be interpreted as a display of general hatred for the police. Cases like that happen regularly in China, and those reactions were for a big part based on pity for what was considered a victim of the system. There is a similar case in the book I just reviewed that happened some years ago, where netizens tried to turn a college serial killer into a hero. The police had nothing to do there. And again, I never see any reactions like that when I speak to people in Shanghai.

The ministry of state security and its organs here are crafted along the lines of the USSR’s KGB and East Germany’s notorious “Stasi”.

You would not believe the depth of infiltration of the state security organs in all levels of society in China.

If you have gone recently to renew or change your registration at your local police station you may have noticed, that they have now finally gotten a grip on their databases as well. Relational databases that show also the people you are usually in touch with, at work, friends, your mobile phone number and people whose numbers you call frequently or sms. Thanks to GPS they can also now track where you are.

If you have not gotten around using PGP for your sensitive e-mails, it is now about time.

In the post I wasn’t really thinking of stabbing, but of the general associations of “police”. In many circles in the West (leftists?) the word “police” has in itself a negative connotation, as in “police state”. I really haven’t felt this in China. Perhaps I haven’t been with the right people.

To tell you the truth, I find it extremely difficult to understand the relations in China between the police and the people, and how is it possible that in an authoritarian regime police have much less apparent authority than in our countries.