China is known as the Bicycle Kingdom, maybe also the Bicycle Theft Kingdom. Taking Beijing as an example, bicycle thefts happen everywhere, especially on campuses. I personally lost four bikes during my college years in Beijing. The highest record I’ve heard is someone who lost seven bikes within four years in university. The key reasons for bike crime are because there are too many bikes and they are really cheap, about $10 for one. Thus, to track all bicycle thefts is impossible and not really worth the efforts of the local police, who may have other pressing tasks. Will the battle to fight against bicycle thefts work this time? From Reuters:
China has halved the number of bicycles stolen to about 2 million in the past nine months, police said on Thursday, following a campaign to clamp down on theft months before its capital hosts the Olympics…
“We strongly smashed illegal bicycle theft activities and constrained the growth of new cases,” said Ma Weiya, vice-director of the police social security management department. [Full Text]
Read also Richard Spencer blog on Beijing Bicycle
