big trouble in little china

so we're at tienemman square walking around at this local approaches us trying to sell a 10-pack of postcards for 20 yuan (about $2.75). poom and i have partnered on buying the 10-packs, splitting costs and the pack. but as per usual before any purchase in this fascinating land, one must bargain.

we get him down to 10 yuan and start flipping through the cards to make sure they're not all of the same thing or from the '50s. he starts getting a little nervous and we sense he wants to close the deal and fast. being MBA students, we naturally pounce and offer 10 yuan for 2 packs. he amazingly agrees and as i'm holding the cards digging in my purse a police officer approaches ... gently puts his arm around the peddler ... and guides him away to the paddy wagon in the middle of the square. it was the most powerfully silent and awkward encounter i've ever witnessed ... the peddler's head just dropped ... the chinese policeman guided him away with the 'come on, son' shoulder grip ... and i'm left holding the contraband he made no effort to recover.

my first instinct was to run, my second was to take a photo. brett, a fellow traveller, said he was advised to never take photos of police activity in other countries ... but that sounded like totally boring and so not me. so we compromised and i took a photo of the kid being put in the paddy wagon, but i didn't zoom in.

'tanks' for the memories.