In the Dongcheng district, on a stretch of road called Chaonei Beixiaojie, a featureless length of concrete wall is broken up by a great iron gate. In this gate is a small slot, cut at eye level. Exactly at eye level, as it turns out - for behind the slot there is a pair of eyes.
It is disconcerting, to say the least. A pair of eyes is there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, staring at everything and everyone, but particularly at anyone bold enough to stare back.
Very occasionally, the iron gate is suddenly swung back and a big black car glides over the pavement on to the road. Its horn sounds continuously, and other drivers know to yield, even if it means slamming on the brakes. This building is part of the National Bureau of Religious Affairs after all - a top-level government office.
On Chinese roads, right of way generally goes to the driver who can summon the most clout in the case of an accident. Split-second judgments are based on the make and model of other cars. A good indicator of a driver's status is the licence plate: the characters jun or bei before the number indicates army affiliation, while kong and hai are for air force and navy, respectively. Both white and red lettering should be given a wide berth, and WJ - armed police - always trumps a lowly citizen's jing. But China's ancient privileges of power have been updated for modern times, and those who can afford a black Mercedes, for example, preferably with black tinted windows, can expect to enjoy the same rights of swerving, speeding, and effective impunity as the military. Should they cause a fatality, they may have to endure the humiliation of a trial, although almost certainly not a conviction.
Now add to the list of dangerous plates the shi of diplomatic personnel. Most of Beijing's diplomatic population behave perfectly well on the roads but a few, to put it mildly, do not. It seems to be an axiom of life abroad that some foreigners consider themselves exempt from the norms of public decency and good behaviour that would typically apply in their home country.
In this case, a certain solidarity of officialdom seems to apply. The hosts take it for granted that the powerful of all nations should enjoy the same privileges that they do. And some diplomatic personnel, given this permission, take it readily.