The backpacker said he had just arrived from Kunming by train, and is planning to go to Hong Kong. He claims to only have RMB 40 on his person, and is relying on the generosity of others to cover his train tickets and accommodation.

The backpacker follows in the steps of 25 year-old Victor from Poland who was seen begging at Guangzhou East Railway Station last November. Victor said he ran out of money while backpacking, and relied on the kindness of strangers, while police and workers at the station claim Victor is a professional panhandler who can make as much as RMB 1000 a day.

Much like the Russian backpacker, Victor said he intended to use the money earned from begging to travel to Kunming, and then continue onwards to Laos, Thailand and Cambodia.

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The 25 year-old Polish man, identified as “Victor”, said he arrived in Guangzhou last week and quickly spent the $500 he had saved to backpack throughout Asia. With no money, Victor has had to rely on the kindness of strangers who have been willing to help him buy the 200 yuan ticket to Kunming, where he plans to continue onward to Laos, Thailand and Cambodia.

Knowing no Chinese, Victor sits at the No. 1 entrance to the train station with a sign that reads “Ticket to Kunming” (seen below).

However, locals say Victor is lying, and that he’s always at the train station panhandling. A janitor named Zhang claims he even knows how much Victor makes in a typical day:

Don’t believe him, he’s been here for about ten days now. Foreigners are generous and give him one or two hundred yuan while Chinese usually just give him ten or twenty yuan. In a day, he can usually make about a thousand yuan.

An unidentified police officer confirmed Zhang’s account saying, “He’s been here for about a month now. I saw him before I went on my vacation on October 10.”

When a reporter with the Southern Capital Report confronted Victor, he immediately came clean and explained, “I’ve been here for ten days, but if I were to explain that I’ve been here for so long, people will get mad.” When asked how much money he has made from begging, Victor would only say that Guangzhou residents are “really friendly”.

If it seems like Victor has worn out his welcome in Guangzhou, no one appears to be showing him the door. Guangzhou police have admitted there’s little they can do:

He hasn’t caused a public disturbance, so we can’t force him to leave. Sometimes we have a communication problem (with him).

The fluently-English speaking Polish expat said that he has decided to leave for Kunming very soon, but then cryptically ended the interview by asking:

Out of a hundred percent, how much of my story do you believe?

Related:

• Giant LED screen in Shenzhen broadcasts footage of alleged fake beggars
• Beggars in Shenzhen living secret lives of luxury? Some say it’s true

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The patients have been there for a combined total of more than 17,000 days and collectively owe more than 8 million yuan in medical fees, the city’s public hospital management center announced this week.

The paper has more:

Xu Yong, director of operations at the city’s hospital management center, said many of the patients are vagrants who had been sent to a hospital by police or civil affairs employees after suddenly falling ill. Hospital officials have been unable to contact family members of many of the recovered patients who are refusing to leave.

The over-staying patients also include people who have large medical bills or still need recuperative treatment, even though the treatment doesn’t require hospitalization. Patients involved in medical disputes also are among the over-stayers.

Xu said hospitals have no right to force patients to leave, unless police intervene.

None of the patients have been forced out of a local hospital, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported yesterday.

“Hospitals have become shelters for many people who think they are in a disadvantaged position,” Xu said. “If there was a government-funded rehabilitation center that could provide free services to these people, the current situation might change. The government could also establish a better aid system for these people.”

A 13-year-old girl identified only as Xiaomin was sent to Shenzhen Children’s Hospital at the end of 2010 because of heart failure. Her condition eventually stabilized, but she has remained in the hospital, where administrators have suggested that she leave 14 times since August 2012.

The girl’s father has rejected each request, citing financial difficulties.

The management centre is trying to figure out a way of preventing patients from abusing the system.

One patient has been staying in the neurology department at Shenzhen No. 2 People’s Hospital for seven years, according to the centre.

It became obvious there was a problem after a Nov. 2 incident in which the father of a female patient allegedly used a kitchen knife to threaten doctors at Peking University Shenzhen Hospital.

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