A well-researched and thoughtful article.
Certainly in large cities on the east coast like Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shanghai, many of the adult beggars are controlled by mafia groups who will actually pay them a monthly salary.
This is why at Chinese New Year and during the National Day holiday, you very rarely see beggars on the streets of the cities I mention above; it's simply because they have all gone back to stay with their families.
I'm sure that there are genuine cases of hardship that have lead to this deplorable situation, but it is worth remembering that many of the beggars in the aforementioned cities are there to make money for others, and whilst this may seem a touch cynical, giving a couple of kwai to a beggar may be funding organised crime.
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