Documentary sheds light on China's urban management officers

BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- A documentary about life of China's urban management officers, known as "chengguan," has gone viral.

The 23-minute film titled "Here Come the Chengguan," aired on several Chinese online video platforms on Jan. 10. It quickly became popular and had received more than 500,000 views as of Friday night.

The short film is based on the story of Su Jinda, a chengguan officer in Beijing's Haidian District. It depicts the challenges he faces when dismantling illegal buildings and dealing with illegal street vendors, as well as his showcasing friendly approach to his work.

"Urban management officers should strictly enforce the law but they can do it in a more humane way through better communication," said Su, who has a law degree from Tsinghua University.

Urban management officers are stationed in almost every Chinese city, but they have been increasingly criticized by the public due to the way some of them choose to enforce the law.

"The essence of urban management is to manage the city for its residents rather than manage residents for the city," said Wang Zhiwei, director of the Haidian Chengguan Law Enforcement Administration.

"The film can help the public to better understand the role of urban management officers, while encouraging officers to learn from Su to improve their management methods," a user named "Lyuyehengchun" commented online. Enditem