A Crackdown on Olympic Ticket Scalpers

From Lin Yang, a look at how Beijing police are cracking down on Olympic ticket scalpers, and their instructions to her as a journalist on the scene:

Beijing police have launched an “iron fist crackdown” on Olympic ticket scalpers, the state-run Xinhua News Service reported. On the 15th alone, police arrested 110 “scalpers and others for causing public order disturbance,” and 71 of them were sentenced to “administrative detention.”

I can testify to the “iron fist,” as this eight-second-long video shows. I have been visiting the Wukesong stadium regularly -- one of the venues where scalping activities are most rampant -- and everything seemed normal as I headed towards the baseball field Sunday. The scalpers were scattered along the streets outside the stadium and an overpass, offering tickets for hot games in hushed voices. It is truly a profitable business -- there are always a number of eager Olympic fans cruising for affordable tickets, which are hard to come by. A ticket for the China-Germany basketball game on Saturday night was going for 6,000 yuan minimum, about $875, and an A category ticket for the Taipei-Cuba baseball game was going at 2,500 yuan ($365), while the face value was 50 yuan ($7.25).

Suddenly there was a flurry of commotion in the crowd. A red-faced man with bulging eyes was trying to free himself from four or five young men who had his arms twisted behind his back. A woman, presumably his wife, trailed behind, crying and begging the men to let him go. From bits and pieces of conversations, I figured they were a couple of ticket scalpers. I was almost past the scene when one of the young men grabbed the pleading woman and threw her to the ground with such force that I could hear her landing.

The group proceeded towards a police van, and one of the young men now had an arm around the scalper's neck to stop his howling. I followed and got the last bit on camera. An officer in police uniform spotted me immediately and said, “You. Delete it.” I was stunned and automatically responded with “why?"

“There's no need for a reason. Delete it. And who are you? What are you doing here? What do you do?” As I stared at his chest pocket searching for his ID information, a tall man in plain-clothes showed up.

“You, come over here,” he said. I showed him my registered journalist ID and told him I work for TIME. Before I could ask any questions, he gave me a lecture on how I “should not take an interest and join the crowds of onlookers,” since it would “do me no good.” I should “watch my own behavior” and what they were doing here tonight was “only for the good of the people.” I tried to explain that I did not make any judgment by taking the video, and I could not, given that I did not even know for sure what was happening. “Shush now, and off you go,” was all I got.

I guess I was lucky compared to some other journalists. I was let off untouched, with the video still on my camera. I recognize the police have a tough but vital role to fulfill, and I hope that police begin to see that journalists do too.