Foreign Beggars Kneel Down Chinese Street

Foreign Beggars in China? Surprising. You must have believed I am joking, but it is true. In this article, you will see a foreign beggar kneels down a Chinese street, two Russian beggar beg for tour fees in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and Foreign beggars preying on charitable locals.

Foreign Beggar Kneels Down Chinese Street

OK first, look at this picture popular in China’s internet.

This foreign beggar kneels down a Chinese street. In front of him, there is a paper on which it was written with Chinese writing brush. It read like this (translated):

“My name is Bernard. I love China. I want to stay in China but I have no money. I am penniless. Please HELP ME!”

Beside the foreign beggar, one man ask the other, “Would you give money to him, since he is from overseas”. The other man answers, “I’d like to give him nothing. So many poor men in China, why he chose to come to China.”

Netizen Cat Foreign Says, “He must be a foreign spy.”
Netizen Field Sports Says, “He is shooting a film. Must be. Beggars Group or the beggars opera!”
Netizen Love Afar Says, “A Chinese version of Brother Sharp.”
Netizen Hao Zone Says, “A foreign version of Brother Sharp. Let’s make human flesh search for him.”
Netizen Girly Youth Says, “Wait. I would like to throw him a life ring.”

And Coming up next, two Beggars from Russia beg for travel fees on the street in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China.

Russian Beggars in Chengdu City

One Couple from Russia Begs for Travelling Expenses in Chengdu City

Coming up next, Foreign beggars preying on charitable locals

Chinese who are feeling generous during the Lunar New Year holiday period may just be falling prey to scheming beggar syndicates.

An unusually large number of disabled beggars were seen lining the streets in the vicinity of the Kuan Yin Temple at Waterloo Street yesterday. When Lianhe Wanbao was alerted to it by readers, a reporter saw at least 10 such beggars there during a visit to the area. All 10 beggars were men and dressed in ragged old clothes. They were either missing a limb, or appeared to be suffering from polio.

The beggars’ takings were good, with some of them being able to earn as much as $200 an hour, as Singaporeans were more willing to donate and spread the spirit of giving during the festive season. The best “earners” managed to get $6 in donations in just one minute, and a significant number of passers-by even parted with $10 bills.

And in order not to show potential donors their takings, the beggars would quietly slip their takings into a small, black bag which they carry with them when they have amassed about $10 in notes or a small hand full of coins.

According to sources who were familiar with the situation, these beggars belong to a foreign syndicate with a very organized, systematic manner of operations. The beggars work in two ‘shifts’, ensuring that potential givers will see fresh faces over the course of a day.

Members of the public that Lianhe Wanbao spoke to said that the beggars are usually ferried to their ‘workplace’ by a car, but they will also hop onto a taxi when traffic is heavy.

One of the beggars Lianhe Wanbao spoke to said that he was from Guangzhou, China, and that he made the the trip to Singapore just to beg.

The man, 50, who refused to give his name, said that he had lost his arms in a traffic accident in China. He applied for a visa to come to Singapore about a month ago.

He told Wanbao that he lost his bag upon reaching Singapore, along with about $13,000 in cash. He also said that he would have to earn an equivalent of that amount in order to return to China.

Begging is illegal in Singapore and the law states that those found guilty can face up to two months in jail or a $3,000 fine.

Foreign nationals caught begging will be referred to the Immigration Checkpoints Authority (ICA).

Netizen Dorobo69 says, “Really wanna kno who is their leader, Hong Qi Gong, the beggar sect leader with his dog-beating stick. LOL”

Netizen NikarNikar says, “Seems that every handicapped person in China can take a plane to SG, and go to our Chinatown to beg, and don’t even need visa or whatever. Also, seems that cops won’t catch them either cos’ they’re handicapped. Maybe they just chase them off the streets. Next day, beggar sect returns.”

Netizen muppet says, “this is only one of those 1st world class division one policies formulated by those who take multi millions for themselves because they said they deserve it to come up with these 1st world class division one policies, such as this one with this result. after shooing away professional original singaporeans who are financially able to be mobile and sealing their departure with the ‘quitter’ labelling, the singapore government has to open the flood gates to fill in those numbers and this is what we get.”

Netizen Robert Vance says, “So Many Beggars in China. By the time I reached my apartment tonight, I was feeling a little depressed. It’s not like I haven’t seen beggars before. China is full of them. But after the third beggar held out their hand to me tonight, I began thinking about why they are out there in a country that holds so much promise. The last beggar that I encountered wasn’t even asking me for money; he wanted one of the tomatoes that I was carrying in a small plastic bag. I wish I would have given him one now.”

Netizen Charles Zhang says, “My friends in China tell me that they never give money to beggars because according to them, “it’s always a scam.” I am told that even the beggars without their arms and the legs are merely puppets of a larger group. During a rather horrifying conversation, one Chinese man told me that kidnapped Chinese children frequently have their hands or their legs chopped off to be used as moneymaking machines.  In other words, nothing is at it seems when you see these poor people. There is usually something else going on behind the scene.  With that said, my students admitted that giving money to beggars can do some good because if they do not meet their quota, they could be beaten. And yes, there are some genuine beggars out there who have simply fallen on hard times. It’s just hard, of course, to tell who is who. ”

Netizen Jane Christine says, “The environment in China is harsh; it always has been. While the country has experienced new highs in terms of economic achievement and development, a great deal of poverty still exists, especially in the countryside. There are people out there who are barely making it. As is the case in any country that makes a transition to capitalism, the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. However, hopefully there is more room for movement within the social strata and a person of low economic status can make their way up the ladder. No matter what, there were always be beggars wherever you go. Use good judgement but don’t be stingy. Some people could really use your help. But maybe it doesn’t matter who is who. If you feel like you should give, then do it, and don’t worry too much about where your money is going. Chances are, by giving some money, you are helping the beggar, even if the money doesn’t end up in his pocket. Hopefully, your money saved him a beating or worse.”

Netizen Japa Claus says, “If you are giving money indirectly, via the beggar to the beggars “master”, because they have cut this beggars hands off, you are paying people to cut peoples hands off. Kindly dont participate in that. Feel free to help out a genuine local charity with money or time but please understand that what you do has implications. If you MUST give directly then giving food is an alternative option.” Editing by Alice Lee