CHINA: Elderly Group Takes Traffic Snags Into Its Own Hands

. NEW YORK, NY / Wall Street Journal / Blogs / July 14, 2009 China Journal How China is changing - and changing the world Last week, an old man with a brick sent a message to law-breaking Chinese drivers. The man, in the northwestern city of Lanzhou, stood in the middle of a street one night and watched for cars that ran a local red light. Once they did, he would run up and smash the car with the brick, Sohu.com reported (in Chinese). He continued through the evening even though he has difficulty moving his legs and was almost hit by cars on several occasions. His lesson: Drivers ignore traffic laws at their own peril. The 70-year-old lived in a complex not far away and had been driven to distraction by irresponsible drivers, Chinese media reported (in Chinese). The car-smashing started at around 7 pm that night, and 30 cars got hit before the local police came and stopped the elderly three hours later. Two or three old people were reported to have joined the grandpa’s group on that night. A large crowd instantly formed around the crossroad, many cheering the feat, while some found it unreasonable. It also sparked heated debate (in Chinese) on the Chinese-language Internet. More than 60,000 people voted in an online poll on Sohu.com, with most supporting the brick-on-car violence. “I support the elderly. The government department simply can’t control this,” said one Sohu user. “Running a red light carries a fine of 200 yuan (about $29), but fixing a car window takes 500 yuan!” Both point to the undercurrent of frustration in many places with the local authorities’ ability to keep traffic running. Last month, a similar case happened in southern China’s city of Guangzhou, where a 66-year-old retired soldier pushed a man off a bridge ledge from which he had been threatening to jump. (The would-be suicide case fell on padding laid out by local authorities and lived.) Before the old man intervened, traffic had been stopped for five hours. [rc] –Juliet Ye Comments Facai wrote: Grandpas, grannies, and aunties are the real law in China. China Journal tracks the changes taking place in the world's most populous country, drawing on the insights of the Journal's award-winning team of nearly 20 journalists covering China to explain developments in the country's business world, economy, and culture. Sky Canaves is the lead writer for China Journal. Write to the blog authors at chinajournal@wsj.com Copyright ©2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc