E-Town Net Message (Hubei Daily) (reported by Peng Lei, intern Chen Ying, correspondent Zhi Hong and Wen Lin) Yesterday, Wuhan's first "foreign city manager" took to the streets to enforce the law, successfully dissuading multiple instances of uncivilized behavior. The foreign city manager is named Yaris (pronounced as such), hailing from Lyon, France. He came to Wuhan last year to teach. This 28-year-old Caucasian with a tall nose and sunken eyes was active around the Wuhan International Convention and Exhibition Center yesterday, discouraging uncivilized phenomena.
In front of a convenience store on Wuzhan East Road that was operating outside its premises, the young man persuaded the operator in not-so-fluent Mandarin to conduct business indoors. "Operating outside affects the cityscape and traffic; please move the goods outside the store inside." After gaining the other party's understanding and agreement, he helped the shop owner move two cases of mineral water stacked outside the store inside.
This was Yaris' first case of handling issues on the street. Afterwards, the shop owner who had been persuaded to change his ways expressed that the "foreign city manager" was novel to him, and his law enforcement style was easy to accept. The city management officer who enforced the law together with Yaris was very satisfied with his performance, stating that he could be given a perfect score.
It is understood that taking to the streets for law enforcement was just an experiential service for Yaris, which originated from a disagreement between him and the city management. Earlier this year, when the young man was setting up a stall for recruitment in the Jiangbei community, he was informed by the city management that it was illegal to occupy public space. It was this unintentional violation that sparked his interest in city management.
Yaris said that there are many differences between France and China in urban management, for example, Lyon has designated areas specifically for citizens to set up stalls. He will adapt to the differences in regional culture and strive to protect the urban environment where he resides.