Chinese City to Shame Jaywalkers on Local TV

BEIJING - A Chinese city has a new weapon against jaywalking: the evening news. Police in the eastern city of Hangzhou say footage of pedestrians caught crossing against the light will be broadcast on local television until the behavior stops.

Traffic cameras will film offenders at 20 major intersections, and selected clips will air in a weekly public-service segment. Repeat offenders may also have their employers notified.

"Fines do not work. People pay 10 yuan and jaywalk again the next day," a traffic police spokesman said. "But no one wants their mother to see them on television."

The campaign follows a string of high-profile pedestrian deaths. China, where car ownership has exploded this decade, has one of the world's highest rates of traffic fatalities.

Legal scholars are divided on the shaming tactic, which has precedents in Chinese campaigns against littering and debtors. Some praise it as effective social enforcement; others call it punishment without process.

The first broadcast is expected next month. Police say they hope it is also the last.

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