OPINION> Commentary
Set your own example
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-21 07:23

If you happened to be in Chongqing on July 17 and saw numerous people wearing identical yellow caps on the streets, do not mistake it for a work of performing art masterminded by an imaginative, or unimaginative, artist.

Few artists could afford a work of such scale - there were 10,000 people involved, mind you. Nor were they tourists traveling in a group. Those were employees from local Party and government offices, dispatched to help persuade pedestrians against ignoring traffic rules that morning.

You may wonder why. So do we. And many others.

All long-term residents in Chinese cities know the powerlessness of our traffic signals system. So many, if not most, people ignore red lights and other prohibitive signs on the streets that those who observe the rules appear weird, if not stupid.

We all agree the current size of our traffic police is far from enough to handle the universal disregard of rules of the road. That is why so many cities have hired "assistant traffic supervisors" to supplement the traffic police presence. Given our clever citizens' highly sensitive noses for loopholes as well as their firm belief that the law is not applicable to mass violations, it will not be enough even if we have a dozen times more police officers on the streets.

The deployment of 10,000 "volunteers" at main intersections Thursday morning was part of the southwestern metropolis' high-profile campaign to smoothen traffic flow on local streets. But, forgive us, we do not think this suffices to make a meaningful difference on the streets.

Of course people may be more careful with so many more watchful eyes around. But that was a single morning.

To us, the move makes little sense beyond publicity. It may have been done to show the authorities are serious about rule-ignoring pedestrians. But what about the afternoon immediately after?

There are other alternatives to send such a message. The most sensible approach is to strictly execute current regulations on pedestrian misconduct.

It is fine if public servants from outside the traffic control authorities offer to provide truly volunteer services beyond their office hours.

Otherwise, we would like to see them focus on what they are supposed to do in their working hours. If the city can afford to have 10,000 workers from Party and government agencies being absent from their duties simultaneously, there would be little surprise when people raise questions about possible redundancy.

That aside, instead of seeing them persuading rule-violating pedestrians, we would rather see they themselves set fine personal examples in everyday life, not just on the morning of July 17 and not just on the street.

(China Daily 07/21/2008 page4)