Management departments and police seal off bag stores By Zhao Xiongtao Although the media has repeatedly exposed some merchants near Xi'an train station who use the "porcelain collision" scam to extort money, and relevant departments have cracked down on it many times, it still hasn't disappeared. Yesterday, during a covert investigation near the train station, I found that there are still merchants engaging in such practices. Some merchants are still using the "porcelain collision" scam. Recently, readers reported to our newspaper: There are more than ten stores selling luggage on Beihuan Road, east and west of the train station, which everyday use broken "jade bracelets" to extort money from out-of-town travelers. Yesterday, I went to the eastern and western squares of Beihuan Road train station, and conducted a covert investigation on these luggage shops. I noticed that except for three shops that look relatively regular, all other more than ten shops have a table in the middle, with cloth laid on the table, and bags and "jade bracelets" messily placed on the cloth. Perhaps because they heard my local accent, these merchants were very alert. In a luggage shop at the east square, a man was leaning against a reclining chair smoking, while another woman was looking around. I asked: "Do you have better password boxes?" The man didn't even look up and said: "The boss is not here, not selling anything." I came to another luggage store separated by a cake shop. Before I entered, I heard the sound of haggling inside the store. A man and a woman were arguing with two people who looked like migrant workers. Two women at the door stopped me from entering. A woman wearing a yellow coat said: "We're taking inventory, not selling anything right now." Victims: Only allowed to leave after paying compensation. I pretended to be waiting for someone at the entrance of a nearby supermarket, and heard the commotion coming from the neighboring "Bag Store". "These two jade bracelets are worth more than a thousand yuan, you broke something, you definitely need to compensate..." "I really don't have any money left, besides, I don't think I touched the bracelet?" After four or five minutes, two men angrily walked out of the store towards the train station. I caught up with them and revealed my identity. Master Ren, 41 years old, said he and his coworker Master Xie worked on a construction site in Xianyang, both from Chongqing. With the Spring Festival approaching, they bought train tickets for 8:30 PM on the 22nd to go home. Wanting to buy some gifts for their families, they came to this "Bag Store" to buy a bag. "I didn't touch the table where the bracelets were placed, but just as I turned around, I suddenly heard a 'pop', and a pair of 'jade bracelets' fell and broke on the ground. Then one man and three women surrounded me, saying I broke the 'jade bracelets' and demanding compensation. The woman in the yellow coat said each bracelet was priced at 799 yuan and 399 yuan respectively, demanding 1100 yuan before letting me leave. I bargained for a long time, eventually leaving behind 150 yuan before being allowed to leave." Police: Bracelets cost only two or three yuan each. While I was talking with Master Ren, three unidentified men kept following me, so I immediately called 110. At this moment, the woman in the yellow coat ran over, returned the 150 yuan to Master Ren, and then crossed Beihuan Road and disappeared into Shangjianmen. A few minutes later, the officers from Dongguangchang Police Station arrived and found that the "Bag Store" had already locked its roller shutter door. A responsible person from Dongguangchang Police Station said that the woman in the yellow coat is surnamed Xiong, the owner of the "Bag Store", who has been dealt with before for the "porcelain collision" scam. He said that at the end of October, they had cleaned up and cracked down on merchants suspected of using the "porcelain collision" scam in the jurisdiction. "It's difficult to supervise and gather evidence," this responsible person said. These merchants specifically target out-of-town travelers and migrant workers, and since travelers are often in a rush to catch their trains, some accept losing a few hundred yuan, while others, although reporting the incident, fail to record the store name. These illegal merchants are very cunning, setting up tripwires under the tablecloth, making their criminal methods very hidden. Moreover, they also have dedicated lookouts, who immediately remove the tools once they spot police or enforcement officers. Some merchants even secretly track victims after receiving payment, and if they notice any signs of reporting, they immediately return the money to the victim, making it difficult for the police to crack down. The bracelets used in the scam only cost two or three yuan each. Report porcelain collision scams by calling 87415050 Subsequently, the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Team of the Train Station Square Management Committee jointly inspected more than ten luggage stores in the area with the station front branch. They sealed off and ordered business suspension and rectification for the "Bag Store" at the east square of the train station suspected of extortion, ordering the operators selling luggage and jade bracelets to remove the tables in the middle of the store. When the police and staff arrived at the west square of the train station, all eight luggage stores at the west square had without exception locked their roller shutter doors. Captain Guo Bo of the Law Enforcement Team of the Train Station Square Management Committee said that previously, there were eighty to ninety stores around the train station involved in porcelain collision scams and extortion. After joint crackdowns by relevant departments, it disappeared for a period of time, but now some merchants are defying the ban. Before the Spring Festival, the Train Station Square Management Committee will still jointly conduct concentrated rectifications with public security, industry and commerce, quality supervision, price control, and other departments on the business order in the jurisdiction, firmly eliminating illegal operations such as porcelain collision scams. He reminds tourists that if they encounter porcelain collision scams or similar situations, they can call the 24-hour hotline 029-87415050 set up by the Management Committee's Tourist Service Center to file complaints. By Wang Shihua of our newspaper ■ Journalist's Notes Don't let porcelain collision scams tarnish Xi'an's image The phenomenon of deceiving and exploiting customers around Xi'an train station has always troubled passengers and citizens. After governance and rectification in recent years, various illegal phenomena have decreased compared to before. However, the overall situation of governance is still not optimistic. According to the introduction of police officers from the station front branch, they have received more than a hundred complaints about deceiving and exploiting customers this year. The train station is the first impression people get when arriving at a city, and the management of the train station relates to the image of the city. Currently, we are moving towards becoming an international metropolis, hoping that relevant departments will soon establish a long-term mechanism to completely stop customer exploitation and deception, polish the ancient city window, and ensure that when outsiders mention Xi'an, it doesn't get associated with words like "porcelain collision scam."