This morning, my wife and I set out to make a trip to the hospital. Because we were in a rush, we decided to rent a sanlunche (motorized tricycle) to take us to the nearest subway station. We hailed one on the main road outside the north gate of our community at about 8:45 am.
Our driver proceeded westbound on Chaoyang Road until reaching the McDonald’s across the north gate of Beijing International Studies University. At the intersection, she turned right onto Dingfuzhang Street and proceeded north toward Dalianpo station on Subway Line 6.
The Global Times recently published an editorial titled, "What if Chinese police beat a jaywalker?" covering the recent case of a Chinese man allegedly beaten by police for resisting arrest after jaywalking in New York.
So, who wants to be a chengguan?
chinaSMACK reports via Beijing Times that 19 chengguan in Xiamen, Fujian province were victims of a sulfuric acid attack on October 16, with 18 of them needing hospital treatment.
A new set of regulations called the "Guangzhou Metropolitan Comprehensive Law Enforcement Work Standards" went into effect on Tuesday, essentially forcing chengguan -- urban management officers -- to be congenial. As Danwei reports, the law "state[s] clearly that chengguan may not use profane or threatening language while enforcing their duties, may not damage private property, and may not use any form of violence or intimidation," and "to use words like 'please,' 'thank you' and 'I’m sorry.'”
In a story that would make researchers of the Stanford prison experiment proud, on September 20 in a village in Anhui, a 15-year-old surnamed Pan found keys inside an urban management official's car -- a chengguan's vehicle -- hopped in, and almost instantly began trying to enforce the "law" as chengguan would.
“I won’t comply!”
Those were reportedly the last words of Xia Junfeng, a street vendor who ran a kebab stall in Shenyang, Liaoning province, just before his excution on Wednesday. Four years ago, in what he insisted was an act of self-defense, Xia stabbed to death two urban city management enforcement officers -- chengguan -- and wounded another. Most Chinese, including many law professionals, believed Xia should have been charged with "excessive defense," but after four years of appeals, the Supreme Court finally approved his death sentence.
According to the video description, as brought to us by chinaSMACK, urban management officers in Qingdao, Shandong province attempted to demolish the guard room of a "military compound" on the afternoon of September 4. They were met with resistance, as guards and -- reportedly, though this is disputed -- actual soldiers came out looking for -- and getting; this part is not disputed -- a fight.
Iron Mike Tyson, former heavyweight champion of the boxing world, registered a verified Sina Weibo account on Monday, and four posts later, he's already hitting all the right spots. Check out his most recent message:
