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- Speaking in the video, @lialiu_chinese recalls how her brain “exploded” after her husband told her that the tents they saw on the streets had people living inside them. Her husband explained that there is one shelter where homeless people can stay, but many of them choose to live on the streets because “there’s certain rules to follow and they may have drug or mental issues.”
- “When I was in China, I saw videos like this all the time. Some Americans rescue stray cats, stray dogs… what about stray people? Do you want to give them a home?” the TikTok user asks in her video. She also mentions that her friends advised her to avoid homeless people for her safety.
- She then compares the situation in the U.S. with that in China. She says that Chinese authorities help displaced people return to their hometowns, where they are placed in shelters and receive social welfare.
- She adds that unlike in the U.S., where residents need an address when applying for most jobs, anyone in China — even people without homes — can look for work.
- “For homeless people, they don’t have an address so they can’t find a job… in China, you just need an ID, you can find a job, like you can be a waiter, [and] they provide food, lodging and salary, though not gonna be much,” the TikTok user says.
- Last year, the National Alliance to End Homelessness reported more than 580,000 displaced people across the country immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Most of the homeless people recorded were individuals (70%), while the rest were “people living in families with children.”