Chengguan are the most hated govt officials in China

Chengguan are the most hated govt officials in China

BEIJING — China’s urban management officers, or chengguan, regularly make the news, at home and abroad, usually for unpleasant encounters with members of the public. It is not especially surprising, then, that a new report ranks them as the country’s least popular officials.

MAY 31

BEIJING — China’s urban management officers, or chengguan, regularly make the news, at home and abroad, usually for unpleasant encounters with members of the public. It is not especially surprising, then, that a new report ranks them as the country’s least popular officials.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences report — to be released next week but excerpted this week in state news media — ranked Chinese government officials by popularity and chengguan placed last with the worst public image. Ahead of chengguan are school and hospital officials, village cadres, the police and bosses of state-owned enterprises.

Chengguan, which literally means city managers, enforce rules that keep streets orderly and traffic flowing smoothly. But incidents reported in news media showed many are bullies, resorting to violence and stirring public resentment.

In one recent case in Beijing, four chengguan beat a small dog in front of its owner when he could not produce registration papers for his pet.

Last month, in Zhejiang province, chengguan beat a man who was filming them as they investigated a vendor whose stove was blocking a passageway, causing him to collapse and spit blood. The assault triggered retaliation from bystanders, who overturned vehicles and injured five chengguan.

Last July, a watermelon vendor in Hunan province died after a fight with four chengguan. The officers were convicted of intentional injury and sentenced to prison.

However, some commentators said the officers deserved some sympathy. An analysis in the Legal Daily newspaper showed the unpopularity of chengguan stemmed from the nature of their job, which requires getting people to follow regulations, rather than accommodating the public.

Mr Qiao Zhifeng, a blogger, wrote that the dismal ranking was a little unfair to the officers. “Unlike those just sitting in their offices, they are on the front lines,” he wrote. “(The report) exposes problems with the system and the chengguan shouldn’t shoulder all the blame themselves.”

Despite the general loathing for chengguan, Chinese university graduates compete to join their ranks, at least in Shanghai. A report in the Shanghai newspaper Oriental Morning showed that 180 graduates, including 119 with master’s degrees and two with PhDs, applied for 60 chengguan positions in the city last May. A person in charge of hiring was quoted as saying that even though chengguan are often demonised and the work is exhausting, the positions still attract young people with advanced degrees because they are formally part of the civil service and have corresponding benefits. THE NEW YORK TIMES