We like to feature news from Chinese news that may not caught the eye of the western media. Find out what happens in China outside of what is published on China Daily. Johann, from Easy Mandarin Chinese School (www.easymandarin.cn), will be finding, translating and helping us learn some related words to teach us a little more about China
“I am so happy and surprised…this is so unexpected!”, cried out 73 year old Zhou Jiu Liang, a Chinese tourist in Rome visiting the famous Colosseum, not trusting his own eyes that he just came across a patrol of real Chinese policemen.Zhou continues to talk about it, excited like a child, “I walked closer to get a better look and Chinese characters were really written on their uniforms.”
On May 2 – a joint Chinese and Italian police unit started patrolling the streets of Rome. The initiative involves 4 Chinese officers assisting the Italian police for a test run of two weeks in both cities Rome and Milan.
During this time, though they are not allowed to make any formal arrests, they will operate within the Italian police force in assisting to resolve cases involving Chinese citizens – protecting Chinese visitors’ interests and facilitating communication with local police. This is the first time a Chinese police force has been sent to a European country to work on this type of mission.
To help Chinese people identify them, they wear the same uniform that they do at home in China. Two of the officers can speak fluent English and have a strong background in peace-keeping, and two of them can speak fluent Italian.
The Chinese police unit also made a strong impression among local people. An Italian man named Franco welcomes the initiative, which he says, “demonstrates that Italy is becoming more and more open”. He also said that he finds Chinese policemen “very cool”.
There are more than 3 million Chinese citizens visiting Italy each year and Chinese people have become the target of petty criminals and pickpockets. It is well know that Chinese people bring a lot of cash when traveling abroad and, therefore, often fall victim to violent crimes. Recent events in the Italian media let one think that there is not one day without a new case involving Chinese people being snatched and robbed.
This is bad publicity for Italy, which faces an economic crisis and inflow of refugees. The cash flow generated by rich Chinese citizens visiting or investing in Italy is not negligible, and it is necessary for the well-being of the country.
This prompted the Italian government to send a strong signal to show China that it is doing what it can to guarantee the safety of their nationals and restore confidence in the safety of their country.
The Italian government also announced to the general public that the cooperation works both ways, and they will also send Italian officers to patrol the streets of Beijing and Shanghai – so keep an eye out!
Vocabulary:
罗马 (luómǎ) – Rome
米兰 (mǐlán) – Milan
意大利 (yìdàlì) – Italy
警察 (jǐngchá) – police officer
游客 (yóukè) – tourist
合作 (hézuò) – to cooperate
安全 (anquán) – safety
受害者 (shòuhài zhě ) – victim
同胞 (tóngbāo) – fellow citizen
沟通 (gōutōng) – to communicate
经济 (jīngjì) – economy
低迷 (dīmí) – depresssion