BEIJING (Xinhua), February 22, 2008: Beijing has launched a campaign to encourage people to give up seats to the elderly, pregnant or others in need on public buses and subway trains.
The 22nd day of every month was chosen as the promotion day in Beijing for passengers to give up their seats to those in need, said Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Transportation Commission on Friday.
"The number 22 resembles two seats," he said in explanation why this specific day was chosen, "and the Chinese pronunciation of two sounds like R, first letter of RANG, which means giving in Chinese."
"With this move, we aim at creating a harmonious and orderly riding environment, and raising passengers' awareness to take care of the elderly, the weak, the sick, the handicapped and the pregnant," he said.
Municipal media will keep a candid eye on this from July to September, praising those who give up their seats voluntarily and exposing those who refuse to do so, according to Liu.
Beijing is determined to eliminate its residents' bad habits so as to polish its image before the Olympics. The 11th day of each month has been designated as the "queuing day" since last February, as the number was believed to symbolize "one after one".
This latest move follows a controversial proposal by a member of Guangzhou city committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) that preferential policies for the elderly passengers should be lifted during rush hours.
Guangzhou, capital of the southern Guangdong Province, has about 1million elderly passengers who enjoy discounts on the buses. But a report from a Guangzhou-based tabloid found that elderly passengers made up a large proportion of passengers at rush hours in the morning.
"In fact we are willing to give up our seats to them, but couldn't they, already retired, avoid the rush hours?," a passenger identified as Ms. Xie was quoted as saying, "a day's work was already tiring, can't we have a rest during the long trip to our companies?"
Bus staff have entered into the spirit of the scheme. One, Liu Lili, a conductor on Bus 120, bought small presents with her own money before this Spring Festival so as to encourage people to give up their seats.
Editor: Bi Mingxin
Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency
