Respect for Elders - the Beijing Episode

As the mercury drops below sub-zero in Beijing , there is a very heart-warming news coming from the Capital.

Not to be outdone by the Shanghai lady cab driver (actually unrelated), it is announced that the Beijing public buses will begin to offer free ride from 2009 to elderly aged 65 and above.

Buses and the commuting system will be designed to be more elderly friendly and there will be at least 10% of seats made available to the needy.

There is even a very thoughtful directive requiring that the bus driver to ensure that the elderly are securely seated before pulling the bus.

Clearly, Confucianism is making a come back to China. Hu's governing philosophy - 以人为本 (people-based) has its root in classic Confucianism. Over time, Hu's doctrine can be extended to include not just welfare and interest of the people (民生民利) but also right and liberty (民主自由) of the peoples.

It will be a historical paradox to blame China's feudalism on Confucianism (from 1900s to 1970s) and to credit Confucianism for China's progress and democratization (starting now).

I am planning to write over the next few months some snippets on Confucianism from a liberal perspective. This is quite a misnomer because Confucianism is often associated with conservative ideas. The truth is Confucianism although coded in term of deference to the ancient and sometimes legendary kings and sages, it was actually a progressive philosophy promoting benovalent governance during the Spring and Autumn period.

What I am going to write is not a reinterpretation but rather a constructive account of the Confucianism's progressiveness that is often overlooked.

京巴士增老人座位[08:52] 2008年12月9日 (二)

北京的公共巴士集團新規定，老人沒找到座位前，巴士不能啟動。每輛巴士的「老幼病殘孕」專座須達10%以上。

明年1月1日起，65周歲老人持老年卡將免費乘坐巴士。為此，巴士集團提高了對老年人的服務標準。明年1月1日前，所有巴士廂中必須保證10%的座椅為「老幼病殘孕」專座，如果不達標或位置不對，車隊要對巴士內座椅進行重新安裝。此外，為了保證老年人在車廂內安全，老人上車後沒有找到座位前，司機不得啟動車輛。

據了解，目前本市每輛巴士上大約有8個到10個「老幼病殘孕」專座，專座顏色以黃色、紅色為主。如按照10%的比例計算，座椅總數較少的單機車基本能夠達標，但是車型14米到18米的通道車就需要增加專座。此外，由於車型不同，不少中門上車、前後門下車的巴士，專座位置設在中門，這樣反而不利於座位上的老年人從前後門下車。針對這種情況，巴士隊也將重新安裝專座。

巴士公司明年還要求在有條件的站台設老人乘車「綠色通道」。車輛進站後，將首先開啟面向老幼病殘孕候車區的車門，讓他們先上車坐到座位上，再開啟其它車門。

(京華時報)