Fines are not the solution to jaywalking

In fact it is a manifestation of the losing battle they are waging against vehicles for the use of urban space. The conspiracy of silence surrounding the priority given vehicles inevitably compromises the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

Compared with the Chinese-style jaywalking, Chinese-style air rage is more aggressive, as angry passengers resort to extreme measures to protest over flight delays. Recently a furious passenger slapped a flight attendant in face, because a flight from Shanghai to Harbin was delayed, and in other cases angry passengers have faked bomb threats or dashed onto runways to protest.

China's civil aviation administration body estimates that a total of 320 million plane trips were made in China in 2012, an increase of 30 million from a year earlier, and this year the number of trips is expected to grow to 350 million. To meet the demand, airlines have been adding new planes and increasing the number of flights.

Nevertheless, with the air space administration for civil use yet to become scientific and precise, there are inevitable delays when it is at full capacity and can hardly accommodate any more planes.

This is not to defend Chinese-style jaywalking or air rage. However, such behavior is often cited as a national character trait that explains all sorts of problems in Chinese society. The fundamental solution for such Chinese-style behavior is not fines and punishments, as the truth is such behavior is just a symptom rather than the disease, and it is all too often used as an easy excuse for not addressing the real problems.

The author is a writer with China Daily. E-mail: gaozhuyuan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/19/2013 page8)