'Chengguan' beggar control plan debated

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Urban management officers, or chengguan, may be penalized if beggars are found begging or sleeping on the streets the chengguan manage in the Luohu district of Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, the People's Daily reports.

'Chengguan' beggar control plan debated.[ File photo ]

'Chengguan' beggar control plan debated.[ File photo ] 

The new appraisal method, which sets the penalty and reward mechanism for chengguan in accordance with whether there are beggars or not in their areas, was generated by a series of Shenzhen municipal government documents released in February with the aim of improving the level of residents' living environment.

Will the new appraisal method prevent beggars from begging in the district's street? The question has aroused discussion among different parties.

Yuan Bing, head of a law enforcement team at Shenzhen Urban Management Bureau, said that with more than 20,000 beggars in Shenzhen, nine out of 10 of them are "professional beggars." Yuan said that means they are begging to make a profit and are not eligible for the government's relief policy.

Li Lanfeng, a Shenzhen citizen, said if beggars linger on major roads and streets in busy traffic, it may create a risk for accidents. Li said he will support the method to establish some no-begging zones.

Professor Zou Xueping at the Law School of Shenzhen University said a citizen's right to beg cannot be deprived because of some illegal beggars. Legal begging should be protected by law and a city's tolerance can be seen from the way it treats beggars, even professional beggars.

Mei Chun, a lawyer at the Guangdong Pengxiang Law Firm, said the new appraisal method will force the urban management department to adopt some compulsory measures to clear away beggars in order to avoid being punished for low scores.

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