Crime in China used to be really bad, years ago. I recall one visit as a teen, some 15 years ago, where someone attempted to snatch my mother’s purse as she was

Crime in China used to be really bad, years ago. I recall one visit as a teen, some 15 years ago, where someone attempted to snatch my mother’s purse as she was riding on a bike, in broad daylight in a major city. In the last five years, such incidents seem to be significantly rarer; while I don’t have crime stats handy, I can definitely say that I haven’t worried about crime. The thing is, everyone already expects to be watched in public. The government in this sense is really just living up to the expectation. To the average citizen, they can ascribe lower crime rates to the surveillance program, which makes them feel safer. Fitting with the cultural inclination towards societal stability and harmony, surveillance does not seem out of place or unusual in public for folks.