Related News
Officers trying evil eye to get rid of vendors
Source: Xinhua |
September 28, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA'S chengguan officers, or urban management officers, have been drawn into a fresh controversy after staring down illegal vendors in central China's Hubei Province.
A squad of 20 chengguan officers stared in silence at illegal vegetable vendors along a road in Wuhan, provincial capital of Hubei, last week, forcing the vendors to leave out of a sense of embarrassment and fear.
The novel way of executing their duties has sparked heated debate online, where photos of the officers standing in a line, fixing their eyes on the vendors, have been widely circulated.
Some Chinese Internet users joked about the "horrible stares" and "killing eyes," but others voiced their support.
"(They were using) eyes instead of fists. This means of law enforcement is creative and marks new progress," "chenyongzhonglushi" wrote in a posting on Weibo. "But it would be better if the officers turned to legal procedures," the Internet user whose Weibo username roughly translates as "Lawyer Chen Yongzhong" added.
Some, however, called the new method "emotional abuse."
Internet user "Shenglixingshibai" called it "cold violence," saying, "It is more important to improve the vendors' awareness of obeying the law."
About 60 percent of the total 2,000 respondents to an online opinion poll launched by Sina Weibo voiced their approval for the "horrible stare" law enforcement tactic, saying it is better than the officers resorting to violence.
"When I saw people's comments of support online, I was so happy," said Sha Xianqing, a chengguan officer in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province.
"Most of the time, we have no choice. We have to carry out our duties, but we also want to do them in a better way," said Sha, who has been working as a chengguan officer for over 20 years.
It was not the first time that chengguan officers have turned to "silent enforcement." Fifty officers used such tactics in Wuhan in 2009, effectively staring down vendors who had refused to move their roadside stalls.
China's chengguan officers are no strangers to controversy, as they are often criticized for sometimes violent methods for tackling low-level, urban, non-criminal regulation violations.
Experts said the "horrible stares" show that the officers are actively exploring non-violent law enforcement tactics. "They are directly facing conflicts at the grassroots level," said Wang Kaiyu, a renowned sociologist in Anhui. "They are making a good effort, at least."
A squad of 20 chengguan officers stared in silence at illegal vegetable vendors along a road in Wuhan, provincial capital of Hubei, last week, forcing the vendors to leave out of a sense of embarrassment and fear.
The novel way of executing their duties has sparked heated debate online, where photos of the officers standing in a line, fixing their eyes on the vendors, have been widely circulated.
Some Chinese Internet users joked about the "horrible stares" and "killing eyes," but others voiced their support.
"(They were using) eyes instead of fists. This means of law enforcement is creative and marks new progress," "chenyongzhonglushi" wrote in a posting on Weibo. "But it would be better if the officers turned to legal procedures," the Internet user whose Weibo username roughly translates as "Lawyer Chen Yongzhong" added.
Some, however, called the new method "emotional abuse."
Internet user "Shenglixingshibai" called it "cold violence," saying, "It is more important to improve the vendors' awareness of obeying the law."
About 60 percent of the total 2,000 respondents to an online opinion poll launched by Sina Weibo voiced their approval for the "horrible stare" law enforcement tactic, saying it is better than the officers resorting to violence.
"When I saw people's comments of support online, I was so happy," said Sha Xianqing, a chengguan officer in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province.
"Most of the time, we have no choice. We have to carry out our duties, but we also want to do them in a better way," said Sha, who has been working as a chengguan officer for over 20 years.
It was not the first time that chengguan officers have turned to "silent enforcement." Fifty officers used such tactics in Wuhan in 2009, effectively staring down vendors who had refused to move their roadside stalls.
China's chengguan officers are no strangers to controversy, as they are often criticized for sometimes violent methods for tackling low-level, urban, non-criminal regulation violations.
Experts said the "horrible stares" show that the officers are actively exploring non-violent law enforcement tactics. "They are directly facing conflicts at the grassroots level," said Wang Kaiyu, a renowned sociologist in Anhui. "They are making a good effort, at least."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
