[双语] 向过往的汽车敬礼，孩子们，此乃法律

老迷

All the students at Luolang Elementary School, a yellow-and-orange concrete structure off a winding mountain road in central China, know the key rules: Do not run in the halls. Raise your hand to ask a question.
And oh, yes: Salute every passing car on your way to and from school.
Education officials promoted the saluting edict to reduce traffic accidents and teach children courtesy. Critics, who have posted thousands of negative comments about the policy on China's electronic bulletin boards, beg to differ.
This is hardly the only nation where local bureaucrats sometimes run a bit too free. But in China, where many local officials are less than well trained and only the Party can eject them from office, local governments' dubious edicts are common enough.
In April, one county in Hubei Province also in central China drew nationwide ridicule after officials ordered civil servants and employees of State-owned companies to buy a total of 23,000 packs of the province's brand of cigarettes every year. Departments whose employees failed to buy enough cigarettes or bought other Chinese brands would be fined, the media reported.
No one ever precisely pinned down the origin of an order this May to kill all dogs in the town of Heihe, on the Russian border in the far northeast. Media reports suggested that one town official became irate after a dog bit him as he strolled along a river. But the official refused to confirm that.
Town leaders organized teams of police officers and ordered them to beat to death any dog who ventured into a public space.
Scholars say the proliferation of such regulations stems from a lack of professionalism among some local officials.
The Communist Party of China has been trying in recent years to correct these problems by providing better training and more channels for public feedback.
Party schools that groom officials now stress administrative skills as well as ideology. Job evaluations are supposed to be based on concrete results.
Source: the New York Times, October 26





美国《纽约时报》10月26日文章，原题：向过往的汽车敬礼，孩子们，此乃法律        罗朗小学坐落在中国中部一条崎岖的山路旁，该校学生都知道这样一些重要规定：不要在走廊乱跑，有问题要举手。哦，还有，在上学和放学的路上，要向每一辆驶过的汽车敬礼。教育部门官员称，提倡向汽车敬礼旨在减少交通事故并让孩子懂礼貌。批评者在网络论坛跟出数千条帖子表示坚决反对。
      
基层官员有点乱来，此现象并非中国独有。但在中国确有许多官员没受过良好培训，只有党组织才能整治他们。基层政府各种离谱的规定比比皆是。媒体报道：今年4月份，湖北省某县官员要求公务员和国企员工每年购买2.3万条本省香烟，没有购足或购买了其他品牌的部门将被罚款。消息一出，举国哗然。
      
无人知晓中俄边境黑河市今年5月份下令打死所有狗的确切起因。媒体暗示，一位在河边散步的市政官员被狗追咬后勃然大怒。但该官员拒不承认。市领导组织警力对任何一条闯入公共场所的狗，就地处决。
      
学者认为，法令的滥用源于一些基层官员职业素质偏低。近几年，CPC通过提供更好的培训和更多的反馈来纠正这些问题。如今，培训官员的党校强调执政能力和思想意识并举。业绩考查要看实际效果。
本文英文原文见10月27日环球时报英文版第15版

闲人

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