Josh Garcia, a temporary chengguan from the US, shows a pedestrian a sign saying "please do not jaywalk" in Zhuzhou, Hunan province. Governing the city in a civilized way is deemed a major goal of Chinese cities. [Photo provided to China Daily]

To govern the city in a humane way

The rude working style of chengguan, or urban patrol officers, is a striking problem in many cities. To improve the city management and provide better services to urbanites, the top leadership has proposed to clearly define responsibility and accountability of different municipal departments, and asked city officials to respect the urbanites' rights to know the truth, to participate in public affairs, and to supervise the work of government. The goal is city governance for the people, by the people.