I like to complain about the security theatre here in the States, but practically speaking it’s a necessary evil. When the founding contract of the country stipulates the right to own firearms, you must and can only do the best to mitigate the downsides. Unless the second amendment goes away - never, at least not in our lifetime, security screenings before being allowed into venues is just part of life in America.
Surprisingly there’s even more stringent security theatre in China. Can you imagine needing to pass a detector and bag search before getting into a subway station? That’s normal everyday life in China. Perhaps there was a time when this was necessary. But the modern Chinese cities are so heavily surveilled that no one would be stupid enough to commit any physical crimes. (Word on the street is online scams are where the crime is concentrated.)
Never mind the fact civilian gun ownership is absolutely verboten.
With crime practically non existent, why then remain the security theatre? Even if the government is worried about explosive devices, money is so thoroughly digital in China - WeChat pay and AliPay is ubiquitous - that it should be laughably easy to find exactly who purchased the bomb-making ingredients. The citizenry cannot throw away a piece of trash without the government being able to tell exactly which trashcan it is.
There’s got to be a point where the crime deterrence apparatus has been so pervasive for so long that the mere idea of it is enough. The government can then scale back the stuff that merely adds on inconvenience.
But hey, as a government employee myself, I can appreciate the amount of jobs the security theatre creates. It’s rather cushy to sit beneath an air conditioning vent looking at bags all day. Especially for those who did not pass the highly competitive Chinese university entrance exams.
A cup makes the problems disappear.