Suzhou to modify its civility program

Authorities in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, said that a behavior scoring system issued to evaluate local people's level of civil behavior will be revised before it is widely used in the future.

The system, sometimes referred to as a "code of civil behavior", was in trial mode when it attracted the attention of the public and media. It had two main indicators — a "civil transport index" and a "volunteer index", and more indicators were to be included in the future.

Each registered user of the system is given 1,000 points against which deductions may be made for bad behaviors: 100 points for drunk driving and 50 points for running a red light, for example. Extra points can be added if a person provides volunteer social services.

According to the Suzhou public security bureau, the trial, which was launched on Thursday, aimed to establish a "portrait" of each resident's degree of civility and help promote social responsibility.

The system triggered online debate over its standards and whether the local government had the right to influence people's normal lives based on their supposed degree of civilization as measured by the authorities.

The city's civilization office said on Sunday that the system will not be attached to the current social credit system, which influences people's daily lives. Losing points in the system will have no consequences, and registration to participate is voluntary.

The local government has noticed critical voices on the internet, according to the civilization office, adding that it will consider different opinions and improve its criteria.