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Soft police notice draws criticism
By Xu Chi |
September 14, 2011, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A Guangdong Province police notice calling on criminals "to pick up the phone and dial free hotline 110 to turn themselves in for family reunion" has attracted criticism for copying the tone of online shopping advertisements.
"Can you hold on when you face the round moon somewhere far away from home as the Mid-Autumn Festival calls you to reunite with your family?" read the notice on the official microblog of the police on Weibo.com.
"Call 110 and turn yourself in by the end of this year, and you realize your dream of family reunion and enjoy special discounts - lighter sentences."
The notice is one of many similar missives published by police across the country on their official microblog - a trend described by some as the police trying to "act cute" to attract attention.
The trend began in June when Jiangsu Province police announced: "Oh dear, why do you commit the crime? Ten years behind bars would be a big discount for you!"
The notice is accompanied by pictures showing a policeman talking to a criminal with dialog in the vein of advertising patter between online sellers and their customers.
Soon police in other provinces and cities began to imitate the tone, with Shanghai's Xuhui District traffic police publishing a similar call on their microblog, addressing criminals as "dear" and advising them to "end the pain by ordering an arrest service."
This notice was taken offline after it attracted comments from thousands of people - some praising this new idea and some criticizing it for ignoring the feelings of victims or their families and damaging the reputation and "iron fist" image of police.
Pei Zhen, a Shanghai lawmaker, said police should not use such "web language" on an official microblog as they are civil servants required to use formal language. By law, those working for state offices must use mandarin and standard Chinese.
"It is good for them to try following the latest fashion, but they should not violate the country's laws and regulations," said Pei.
He said such "mocking notices" may confuse people who are not familiar with the Internet, and may hurt victims or their families mentally or physically injured by suspects who are still at large.
"Can you hold on when you face the round moon somewhere far away from home as the Mid-Autumn Festival calls you to reunite with your family?" read the notice on the official microblog of the police on Weibo.com.
"Call 110 and turn yourself in by the end of this year, and you realize your dream of family reunion and enjoy special discounts - lighter sentences."
The notice is one of many similar missives published by police across the country on their official microblog - a trend described by some as the police trying to "act cute" to attract attention.
The trend began in June when Jiangsu Province police announced: "Oh dear, why do you commit the crime? Ten years behind bars would be a big discount for you!"
The notice is accompanied by pictures showing a policeman talking to a criminal with dialog in the vein of advertising patter between online sellers and their customers.
Soon police in other provinces and cities began to imitate the tone, with Shanghai's Xuhui District traffic police publishing a similar call on their microblog, addressing criminals as "dear" and advising them to "end the pain by ordering an arrest service."
This notice was taken offline after it attracted comments from thousands of people - some praising this new idea and some criticizing it for ignoring the feelings of victims or their families and damaging the reputation and "iron fist" image of police.
Pei Zhen, a Shanghai lawmaker, said police should not use such "web language" on an official microblog as they are civil servants required to use formal language. By law, those working for state offices must use mandarin and standard Chinese.
"It is good for them to try following the latest fashion, but they should not violate the country's laws and regulations," said Pei.
He said such "mocking notices" may confuse people who are not familiar with the Internet, and may hurt victims or their families mentally or physically injured by suspects who are still at large.
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