Survey: Chengguan remain unpopular

The public's degree of satisfaction with urban management, known as chengguan, remains low in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, this year, a recent survey indicates.

The survey, whose results were released on Tuesday, was conducted by Guangzhou-based Canton Public Opinion Research Center, which interviewed 1,000 residents aged 16 or above in March.

The findings showed that only 28 percent of the public were satisfied with chengguan's law enforcement this year, up slightly from 2013's 27 percent.

Meanwhile, local residents' dissatisfaction with chengguan's enforcement against unauthorized buildings grew to 39 percent.

The degree of public satisfaction on chengguan's handling of illegal roadside stall businesses continued to slide. Public approval stands at less than 20 percent this year, according to the survey.

Many unauthorized construction projects have remained intact for more than a dozen years, and chengguan seem to have no idea, respondents said. At the same time, 67 percent of local residents think stalls that illegally occupy streets and roads for business have become a normal phenomenon in the southern metropolis, the survey found.

Public satisfaction with law enforcement by the police with respect to security reached 50 percent, while satisfaction with traffic enforcement reached 45 percent, the survey said.

Zhang Yiri, an associate professor from Guangzhou City Polytechnic, said he was not surprised that the public's low degree of satisfaction with chengguan because they mainly deal with the city's large disadvantaged groups, including street vendors and other low-income people.

"People usually sympathize with the disadvantaged groups when conflicts occur between chengguan and street vendors and other low-income persons," Zhang said.

At the same time, chengguan have less effective and concrete measures with which to handle lawbreaking activities as compared with police officers, he said.

Zhang said that government departments should educate locals about the law to raise awareness, while chengguan should try its best to improve its enforcement approaches.

Chen Hongwen, a Guangzhou white-collar worker, said the survey indicates chengguan's law enforcement still needs much improvement.

"Chengguan should introduce more people-oriented measures while enforcing the laws," Chen said.