The Prison System

While reading the two short stories in Ha Jin, I noticed that both stories had people getting arrested. As I was reading, I noticed that some of the procedures that the police followed would not have been allowed here in the United States. For example, in the United States, one can not be arrested without probable cause. This might have given Mr. Chiu a better defense than his own word that he did not throw the hot tea, but the policemen caused him to. There also would not have been an arrest for the two jokers, as they were only making a joke to each other. Neither of these situations would have been grounds for an arrest if they had occurred here in the United States. I also noticed that in “Saboteur”, Mr. Chiu was not able to see anyone when he was sick or had requested to talk to the leaders about having a heart condition and hepatitis. The guard had simply informed him that there was no leader on duty during the weekend. This would not have happened in the United States as there are always people in charge that could be called in or who would have been able to help, as leaving someone in jail and with-holding medical assistance as this could have been considered a violation of their Eighth Amendment rights and classified as cruel and unusual punishment. I also found it interesting that in “A Bad Joke” it was interesting that the police were able to find the two people that had said the joke about the Chairman. In reality, it is unlikely that the police would be able to find two people that told a joke or started a rumor here in the United States. I am not sure if this would be possible in China, but I still think it would be unlikely. I think this shows the difference between the culture in American and China.