Private eyes flourishing in China

[dArKeR]

SNOOPING AROUND: As China privatizes and Beijing loses some of its central control, certain duties that used to be carried out by police are done now by private firms, though their legal status is not clear

AFP , SHANGHAIS
Monday, Feb 23, 2004,Page 5

Snooping into citizens' personal affairs, an activity once conducted by China's Kafkaesque network of Communist Party police, informants and traditional neighborhood committees, has, like so many other institutions in the country, been pushed in the direction of privatization.

Out of the upheaval of China's massive economic transformation that has set the country on course for full-fledged capitalism, the self-appointed state role of Big Brother is now being subjugated to the rules of the marketplace.

While China is by no means about to mount a private police force, its rapid modernization has pried open the door of opportunity for private eyes.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/02/23/2003099822