life - Dealing with the bureaucracy

Later today more about the BBS's, but first a report of a troublesome day with the bureaucracy. For one thing I admire those Chinese bureaucrates very much. They have a great talent in solving all those problems they have first created themselves.
Today I resumed my efforts to get a certificate that would state I have no criminal record. Earlier I got the basic form at the notary office in my district, and a friendly Mr. Wang had found out at what district police station I needed to get a chop for that form. At the Feng Lin police station again a friendly reception and they studied the paper I had taken along. They had never seen such paper before.
In the end the highest-in-charge decided he could not chop my paper, since I had no Shanghai hukou - the internal passport for Chinese citizens. That was of course not good enough for me and they tried to find out where I could get my paper chopped. The Xuhui court, they said after consulting with experts. I faced again the traffic jams and went to the court.
There they denied it was there business, and I should go back to the police station. I asked them to call the police station to make sure I would not go back for nothing. No problem, the official said after I saw him making the phone call. They would help me.
At the police station they were very friendly, offered me a seat and water, but felt increasingly uncomfortable, as I showed no intention to leave. I got there a call from a district police man who actually urged me to leave, but I intended to hang on until something happened. He suggested many other places I could visit too, but I stayed put. It worked out, not the immigration service, not the legal bureau and not a higher court could issue the chop. My friends at my danwei, the ministry of foreign affairs will. I will get a jar of tea and park myself there too for a morning.
"Things are much better than ten years ago," a lady told me in the police station. Of course they are.