Security in Shanghai
 

For those who are upset with TSA, let me share how a REAL totalitarian state handles you at the airport. Odd mixture of procedures. First go through a metal detector, but WITH shoes on. No big deal, then head down to the gate. Right before the jet bridge, show your bag for a check against liquids. No big deal, but then the woman shouts "SECURITY ChECK" and frisks me top to bottom, quickly efficiently and including genital area. Not back of the hand gentle either. Didn't see anyone asserting their rights, because you don't have any.

That hasn't been my experience in Shanghai.

Were you bound for the US on a US carrier, by any chance?

Never been my experience either. Always been professional and quick.

Having been to Shanghai, I would not suggest that the regime there is anything like I would want here. This is also the sort of comment I would expect of someone who thinks the TSA is a good thing -- sort of like what one would expect of a totalitarian state.

I have never seen anything like that from Shanghai, although my last visit was in April. When I was there they were ETD swabbing everyone (groups of half a dozen per swab, but it was only wiped on the outside of bags and clothes so I didn't have a problem with this) and there were the normal liquid rules but it seemed much more professional than the TSA.

Among other things if there's something odd on the x-ray *YOU* remove it and show it to them, they never paw through your bag.

I was in China last month, flying into Shanghai and then on flights within China before returning to YYZ through Beijing. And, except for the point about not having to remove shoes to go through security, my experience was completely different from the OP's.

No body scanners, no shouting or rudeness from the security folks, no frisking (let's stop with this "pat down" euphemism) no secondary check for anything after going through security, at the jet bridge or anywhere else.

Now - I wasn't flying to the US, so that may make a difference.

I can't decide whether to be saddened, outraged or both that my dignity as a passenger was consistently upheld better in a country that we criticize for human rights violations than in North America, where we brag about setting the standard for human rights and freedom.

So sad that this is the direction the U.S. is heading in....

Lived in China for last 9 years and gone in and out of airports (internationally) plenty of times, both to the USA and to other destinations. Never seen OP's experience with that frisking happen in Shanghai or elsewhere as part of normal passenger screening. Come clean, ORDflyer--was this frisking just on you or were they putting all passengers through it, and were you flying to the USA? I suspect there was something about YOU in particular that security thought merited some kind of special scrutiny.

Don't go babbling about a "real totalitarian state"--I find a lot more professionalism and courtesy in Chinese airports than anywhere at USA ones. And you never get the "Do you want to fly today" crap and such. The US is a lot closer to a police state than it wants to believe, and has very little room to go bleating to others about human rights and civil rights.

one only needs to be molested by the govt to realise u have no 'rights'

Better than the US.

Included in bag screening in US.

How is this different from the US? I don't know if you are male or female but if you are male I would say it is actually better, because at least you got your genital massage from a female. Otherwise, it sounds exactly the same. It may be no better than the US, but it certainly is no worse. Remember also that you are a foreigner in China. Think of how foreigners in the US who can barely speak English are treated by TSO officers. Especially people who look different from us as you may from them.

You don't have any rights in US airports either. Once you buy your plane ticket you voluntary give up all of your constitutional rights, according to our government. Not that it matters that much anyway because constitutional rights have not been consistently upheld by any branch of our government for many years. They are occasionally enforced, but it's entirely unpredictable. It usually depends on whether there is some kind of competing "state or public interest" involved as well and there almost always is.

Joining the others in stating that I've been to Shanghai and encountered no problems. My feeling in general is that in countries where the citizens have no rights, foreigners, particularly Americans, are treated with great respect, beause they want our money.

Add me to the list of people that has spent a considerable amount of time flying around China and feels that system is far better than the TSA. Recently, since Chinese airlines have seemingly stopped serving beer in Y on domestic flights, I've gotten into the habit of bringing lounge beer on board... and haven't encountered any resistance at all; knock on wood.

Furthermore, a sizable portion --perhaps a majority-- of the groper girls are nice people IME.

Echoing everyone else, I've been through the Shanghai airports (and those elsewhere in China) many, many times and never experienced, or even seen, security like the OP describes, either for foreigners or Chinese citizens. Indeed, I would say that my experiences with Chinese airport security have been universally professional, something which cannot be said for the TSA.

Indeed, I've never had any problems with authorities in China at all, other than the typical annoyances stemming from inefficient bureaucracies that plague governments the world over...

I experienced similar in Seoul in 2008. Except my shoes had to come off once they saw I had a UA BP. Non US flagged or bound flights had to remove their shoes.

Now let me tell you how a former communist country did it. You know, one that only gained it's freedom barely 20 years ago: the Czech Republic.

Flew out of Prague last Saturday, early in the morning. Here was my security check (intra-EU).

Cursory passport check (matched names on BP and passport, looked at me, gave it back). Total time: 5 seconds.

Go to security. Laptop out. Everything else thru in bins. Shoes on. Total time: 2 minutes.

The EU has liquid restrictions, but I checked everything so it didn't hit me. Still, given how chill they were about it, I doubt there would have been a huge issue.

MUC after the German bomb attempt this week:

No ID check. All the LH person cared about was seeing I was a *G so I could get into the elite line.

Same deal as Prague pretty much. Only thing they had me do differently on Saturday (after the incident) than Wednesday (before): they asked me to power on my camcorder. Did wonder what they would have done if the battery was dead though. German police had machine guns. Otherwise, no change between Wednesday and Saturday.

At FRA to board a UA flight: didn't have to go thru security again. Last time I went thru FRA in 2005, I went thru German security and then went thru security AGAIN in the sterile area prior to getting to the UA gates. Got the full shoe carnival and had my junk felt up. This time around: went right to my gate from the German domestic side. No "reclearing" of security again. I had to answer a few questions which reminded me of the stupid ones they asked you in the 90s, and UA printed me a new BP. While the questions were stupid and I don't see how they really contributed anything to security, the whole process in the EU post incident was significantly better than anything I experienced in the US in recent years.

I think the Europeans have more respect for freedom these days, especially in countries that didn't have it for so long.

Oh please, this was my tenth trip to China since 2001. I have flown both foreign and domestic flights in China. I have had a series of multiple entry visas. This flight was to the U.S. I am a white male business-man type. This kind of frisk had never happened before. May not happen again. I was reporting what happened to me. I was somewhat bemused by the fact that there was no concern about sex of either party to the screening.

I actually like China. There is enormous economic freedom,and there are many friendly and sensible people.
Are you implying I made this all up to make China look bad?