Playground advice?

We have a playground just a few meters outside of our building and now that Joelle's gross motor skills have caught up to her independent and adventurous nature, we go out and play as much as we can.

I don't have a problem with letting her take a few non-life-threatening risks on the playground BUT I am a hovering mother-hen when it comes to her interacting with the other kids. 

Kids are MEAN.

Kids here seem to be meaner because they can do anything in front of their mother and get away with it.  The one-child policy has created a phenomenon we call the "Little Emperors"- spoiled, rotten and overall violent, unhappy children that scream and beat their mother in public and then are given what they were screaming for.  Watch out, I'm sure this is coming soon to America, too... not because of a one-child policy, but because of a lack-of-common-sense policy.  I digress.

I often find myself removing children's fingernails from another child's face or comforting a child just pushed down the stairs and have my eagle eyes out for the child who dares to cross this American mama bear by laying their hands on Joelle.

So far, the children are enamored with her white skin and yellow hair calling her "Snow White little sister" and "Barbie doll little sister"- though they do tend to touch her face much too much, nothing bad has happened so far. But I know how children are, and I am not ignorant of the fact that bullying can be so much worse for the child who is different than every one else.

How should I react to bullying? How do I balance teaching Joelle patience and forgiveness with self- defense? Do moms in the states also worry about what happens on the playground?  How do you deal with the mom of said bully? How do you have the self-control to not go around just giving away free spankings to all the brats AND their lazy mothers? (haha)

I can't help but feel sorry for myself because the trouble of bullying is complicated because of a language and culture barrier; I pulled two children apart on a slide and chastised a boy for pulling a little girls hair and an onlooker said "oh, you are compassionate." with an amused smile.

If I ever see Joelle doing anything, even raising her hand like she's even thinking about hitting, she goes straight to time-out and then must give a hug when time-out is over.  Common sense, right?! sheesh.

Anyway, enough about my worries. Look how cute she is playing on the play ground!