I had been to good ol’ Ikea to pick up some salmon and a lampshade and as I was waiting for the train home, a man next to me and his young son were hiding behind a pillar. He peeked around the edge and waited until the platform attendant disappeared before dashing into the toilets. I was so interested in this that I ended up getting on the wrong train and then having to get off at the next stop and turn around.
After the next station, who should I see but the man and his child working their way down the train. The boy went first, rattling a plastic cup and the father followed behind dragging his left leg.
This was quite a change from when I had seen him 5 minutes earlier walking quickly along the platform and dodging behind pillars with his son on his back. Now here he was pretending he was lame.
I was incredulous and so when he got near I told everyone in my carriage that I had seen him at the last station and he was walking quite well and when he got closer to me it was all I could do not to kick him on his fake bad leg. I was glad that I have enough Chinese to tell him in no uncertain terms what I thought of him. He ignored me and continued to drag a completely healthy leg behind him.
There are plenty of parents who use their children (and sometimes other people’s children) to beg, especially on the metro, tugging at the heart strings of young girls and young parents in order to loosen their purse strings.
That’s why I never give to beggars… well, very rarely anyway, especially not when they use children for the purpose. I am surprised so many are allowed to hang about the streets. Many of them have their own ‘pitches’ (often road junctions) and can be seen there most dry days – almost as if they’re renting that stretch of pavement.
Maybe the authorities take a cut – I can’t think of any other reason they tolerate regular beggars in such numbers.