It was 17:19 on a Friday evening and my train was departing Nanjing South Railway Station, headed for Shanghai. The seat next to me remained empty, so for the time being, I placed my magazine and bottle of water in that space. I noticed a man, a few rows up, standing over someone; he looked as if he were negotiating something, but it didn’t involve me and so I put my headphones on and sat back.
那是周五晚上17点19分，我乘坐的火车正从南京南站出发，前往上海。旁边的座位还空着，我就暂时把杂志和水瓶放在那个空位上。我注意到一个男人，就在前面几排，站在某人的上方。他看起来好像在谈判什么事情，但与我无关，所以我戴上耳机坐了回去。
Some time later, I heard the announcement that we had arrived at the next station and I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was that man, the one from earlier. Perhaps because I am a foreigner or he felt he would just give it a go, he tried to push past me and instructed for me to remove my things from the seat beside.
过了一会儿，我听到广播说我们已经到达下一站了，我的肩膀被拍了一下。就是那个男人，之前的那个男人。也许是因为我是外国人，或者他觉得自己可以尝试一下，他试图推开我，并指示我把旁边座位上的东西拿走。
Immediately suspect, I asked to see his ticket; looking taken aback, he tried explaining he didn’t need to, that this was his seat. He stank of stale cigarettes and sweat, his nails were filthy and his clothes unwashed. Again I pressed to see his ticket, by this point, other passengers stuck their noses up; having smelt a whiff of entertainment, they looked wide-eyed as I carried on with my investigation.
我立即怀疑，要求看他的票；他看起来很惊讶，试图解释说他不需要，这是他的座位。他浑身散发着陈旧的香烟和汗味，指甲很脏，衣服也没有洗。我再次迫不及待地想看他的票，此时，其他乘客都竖起鼻子；当我继续调查时，他们闻到了一丝娱乐的味道，睁大了眼睛。
The man became impatient with me; I was trying to carry on until a guard came, but no one came. Eventually he pulled out of his pocket not one but three tickets, and very obviously covering the names on the tickets, aggressively shoved them in my face. I gave in and removed the stuff next to me, he sat down by the window, removed his shoes and spread his legs wide; arms behind his head, he closed his eyes.
那人对我变得不耐烦了。我试图继续前行，直到一名警卫到来，但没有人来。最后他从口袋里掏出不是一张而是三张票，并且非常明显地遮住了票上的名字，凶猛地把它们推到我脸上。我屈服了，把旁边的东西拿掉，他在窗边坐下，脱掉鞋子，张开双腿；双臂抱在头后，他闭上了眼睛。
I looked around the carriage; the young businessman to my right who I know witnessed everything, looked down in a manner that let me know he would be of no help should I need it. Everyone else the same; no guards to be seen.
我环顾车厢四周，我认识的坐在我右边的年轻商人目睹了这一切，他低下头的方式让我知道，如果我需要帮助，他将帮不上忙。其他人都一样；看不见守卫。
For the rest of the trip, the seat squatter would shake his leg and twitch his head in such a way that made me think, “this man’s unstable”. I scanned his clothes for any sign of a weapon, since irrational stabbing is the most prevalent crime I see in the Chinese news lately; a physical threat kept racing through my mind.
在接下来的旅程中，占座者会摇晃他的腿并抽动他的头，这样的方式让我想，“这个人不稳定”。我检查了他的衣服，看是否有武器的痕迹，因为非理性刺伤是我最近在中国新闻中看到的最常见的犯罪行为；一种身体上的威胁不断在我脑海中闪过。
This encounter came as a shock to me because, until recently, I have lived in China without ever feeling the need to watch my back or bag. I have spent most of my time here, as a foreign woman, roaming the streets of China night and day, sober and drunk, and never have I felt unsafe. If I had ¥1 for every time I told someone I feel safer living in China than I do in my home country, I’d be a rich woman.
这次遭遇让我感到震惊，因为直到最近，我一直住在中国，从来没有觉得需要小心我的背或包。我在这里度过了大部分时间，作为一个外国女人，日日夜夜地在中国的街道上闲逛，清醒或醉酒，从来没有感到不安全。如果我每次告诉别人我觉得在中国生活比在我的祖国更安全，我就能得到 1 元人民币，我就会成为一个富有的女人。
My experience is far from isolated. On 20 September, 2018, the Hengyang Railway issued a notice stating that a woman, who was featured in a video that went viral on Chinese social media, was in the end fined ¥200 and had her “social credit” score reduced, leaving her with a travel ban of 180 days.
我的经历绝非孤立。 2018年9月20日，衡阳铁路发布通知称，一名女子因一段视频在中国社交媒体上疯传，最终被罚款200元，并降低其“社会信用”评分，并禁止其出行180天。
The woman, Zhou Moumou, was filmed arguing with train staff about wanting to sit in the window seat even though she had not purchased a ticket prior to getting on the train. “At this time, the police and crew should come forward to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the ticket holder”, said Lawyer, Zhao Liangshan, discussing the case.
这名女子周某某在上车前没有买票，却与列车工作人员争执，要求坐在靠窗的座位上。 “这个时候，警察和机组人员应该挺身而出，保护持票人的合法权益。”赵良山律师在谈及此案时表示。
For the entirety of my trip, there were no police officers, guards or even staff to be seen in my carriage, which was odd, since there is usually at least a waitress offering food. The squatter not only tried to take photos of me, talk to me, and stare at my jewelry and bag, but he continued to behave in such an awkward and suspect manner that it made me feel extremely uncomfortable. After arriving in Shanghai, I found myself looking over my shoulder for the entirety of the walk from the train to the metro; until he went in the opposite direction, I didn’t feel safe.
在我的整个旅程中，我的车厢里没有看到警察、警卫甚至工作人员，这很奇怪，因为通常至少有一名女服务员提供食物。占屋者不仅试图给我拍照、和我说话、盯着我的珠宝和包看，而且他的举止仍然如此尴尬和可疑，让我感到非常不舒服。到达上海后，我发现自己从火车到地铁的整个步行过程都在回头看；直到他朝相反的方向走去，我才感到安全。
I have lived in Mexico, one of the most dangerous places in the world; my paranoia when wandering around the country was certainly justified. Some people may say I was just being paranoid that day on the train, that the man was unlikely to have caused me any harm, but at the same time he very well could have. More and more, incidences like these these that I have in China make me wonder what safety will be like 10 years from now.
我住在墨西哥，世界上最危险的地方之一；我在全国各地闲逛时的偏执肯定是有道理的。有些人可能会说我那天在火车上只是偏执，那个人不太可能对我造成任何伤害，但同时他也很有可能造成伤害。我在中国发生的此类事件越来越多地让我想知道十年后的安全状况会如何。
