You see them everywhere – the limbless waif dragging on a makeshift skateboard, the silver-haired old man with the toothy grin, even the backpack-laden student kneeling behind chalk-marked pleas on the pavement; always with a reason to persuade you to part with spare change or more. Whether to give or not to give to beggars in China is a contentious topic. Wherever begging exists, less-than-bona-fide cases can be found. In China, a populous nation with practically non-existent social nets for the marginalized, begging surfaces at a larger magnitude. The existence of syndicates running begging teams further complicates the giving decision. To give or not to give to beggars while in China – that is really the question.

Photo: tarotastic

A run for the money

The idea of begging conjures up an individual pushed to exchanging dignity for survival. Yet it can be an income source for some who eschew work. Of course the general public has to be persuaded to part with hard-earned cash. Dragging children or an elderly person along is an option. If one has neither of these at home, they can be rented. Moreover, according to Chinese law, suspects raising children or caring for elderly over 70 cannot be detained. Faking a disability like blindness or “bandaged” limbs also elicits sympathy.

Such “professionals” canrake in more than 1,000 RMB a day in big cities like Shanghai, according to the China Daily. Subway lines in big cities like Beijing are fertile begging ground, with senior beggars staking their turf on more profitable lines. Any junior encountering a turf owner on the train should automatically alight at the next stop. Although begging on subways is illegal, subway companies are reluctant to remove them because they do pay for tickets. Air-conditioning and a captive audience are further plus points.

Offline crowdsourcing – the modern version of begging?

In modern cities, another phenomenon has crept in among the young people who perhaps see begging as a form of offline crowdsourcing. Students scratch messages in white chalk on the ground and kneel behind them with heads bowed. While some cases may indeed be genuine, identical messages can sometimes be spotted a few hundred metres away. Besides, the “crowdsourcer” always arranges bodily posture to minimize facial recognition. More recently, the incongruous sight of young men in form-fitting riding gear kneeling with chalk-marked pleas before them and fancy bikes behind them have come to big cities. They are seeking funds to continue their bike journeys across China without having to pawn their expensive cycles.

The dark world of begging syndicates and kidnapping rings

The most controversial issue that complicates the question of whether or not to give to beggars is that syndicates behind them are all too common. News of kidnappings, buying children or the disabled from families in the local and international media assures that this is not an urban legend. Healthy children have been known to be maimed or disfigured to elicit more sympathy. Their “owners” routinely beat them, especially when they fail to meet targeted amounts of takings. Such ring leaders get rich on the takings of children they often send out insufficiently-clothed in winter.

Sometimes, entire communities get into it. Gongxiao Village in Anhui Province is one of the places where begging is serious business. Besides being a training base for child beggars, the disabled are similarly sent out to beg. Other villages began to follow suit, first by borrowing disabled children from neighboring villages but finally descending into the same morass of child trafficking, maiming and routine abuse. Authorities do clamp down on such villages but the sheer numbers involved make it complicated to prosecute all involved.

Less shocking but no more honest are villagers who do the dirty work themselves. Such villagers travel across China, begging as they go. They even manage to build shiny new houses and send children to university on this “livelihood” – something that would be more difficult to achieve had they remained farmers.

What if it were genuine?

Even in the most callous of hearts exists the thought that perhaps the beggar on the sidewalk was incapacitated by a traffic or industrial accident, a debilitating disease or an act of violence. Without any other form of social support to turn to, such individuals lower themselves to relying on the mercy of strangers walking by. What if that teenager really had no money for school fees? What if the old person had no family?

For those who want to help but don’t want to encourage begging, the obvious way would be to give to an NGO. But the recent Red Cross scandal in China is not easily forgotten either. Doing your homework before doling out cash ensures that you do not get scammed by an organization.

The Chinese have also harnessed the power of crowdsourcing to help children kidnapped and sold into begging. Some locals run websites publishing photos of missing children. While a few fortunate ones have been reunited with their families, critics point out that such websites encourages kidnappers to disfigure victims to render them unrecognisable.

A simpler, more practical way to help would be to give food instead of money. This is especially useful when confronted with “beggars” who claim to have lost their wallets or to be unable to afford the next meal.

Perhaps the best way to help would be to take time to get to know the less privileged around you. Only through a long-term relationship would it be possible to ascertain the authenticity of their needs.

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Keywords: begging syndicates beggars in China child maiming