Hi all,

Not sure if everyone is aware but a friend tipped me off about a story in Beijing of a 外国人 knocking into a woman on a motorbike and being deported. Apparently, the first question the police asked him was 'where is your license?'.

The Beijinger (Beijing expat mag) is now apparently running a 'get your paperwork in order' campaign as my friend tells me it's very easy to sort our and avoid the threat of deportation should anything happen.

Please note I am aware of the benefits of cycling, but this question is on eBikes.

What I want to know is:

a.) do i need a license? I have a foreign driving license already
b.) How do I register a eBike if using a second hand one?

c.) Can this be re-registered as many times as you like? Anyone any ideas?

Here's the link to the story if anyone's interested: www.thebeijinger.com/comment/480121

a) not as yet.
b) if the bike is not already registered you may have problems. Buy one second hand if it has the papers in order.

Story is true for motorbikes, but not ebikes.
A colleague of mine had the same issue and was jailed for 10 days and deported. This was in Shanghai about 5-6 years ago.

I believe the guy got deported because he was working on the wrong visa along with his father. They found this out because of the bike incident.

Yeah, I seriously can't understand the reaction of the foreign internet posters pointing fingers at the locals and local authorities while all of that guy's actions and reactions were in the wrong. I also can't understand how some can accuse foreigners of working illegally in their country, but find it reasonable to work without legal papers while in China.

If you want to get everything in order, go to your local police station and ask. I think there's a place on Longquan Lu where you can do the compl;ete registration. The papers that are given to you by the seller of the 2nd hand ebike should be originals.

If you buy a new e-bike, then your receipt, and the certificate that the shop issues you, are what you need to be legal. Keep them or a copy on your bike at all times.

If you get in an accident, you will not be deported, unless of course you are grossly negligent and kill people or something like that, in which case the government has the discretion to do as it wishes. Also, I have been run into countless times by taxis and other riders. All that happens is alot of yelling, and some money changing hands.

How much do they normally give you for running into you??

The bigger and faster e-scooters can't be registered anymore. Most likely in the future the police will start to clear the streets of these non-registered bikes, but who knows when that will happen.

At that time having a fapiao (which only proves the bike is yours if it has your name on it) won't be of much help.

I believe on top of working illegally in China, the foreigner in question was also riding on the wrong side of the road and hit a local grandma. Apparently he was quite fluent at Chinese swear words too, and he was caught on camera disrespecting the elderly. The video was posted on Tudou and it pissed a lot of people off.

The guy I mentioned was on an unregistered motorcycle, no license.he was caught in a spot check during clampdown. The reason for the clampdown was that a child had been killed by an unregistered motorcycle.
the ebike case is different, I know