Critics decry plan for police to help demolish illegal buildings

GUANGZHOU - This city's legislative affairs office has come under fire after it published a draft regulation requiring local police officers to help urban-management officers, or chengguan, demolish illegal buildings.

According to a draft of an illegal-buildings regulation, police officers are required to help chengguan enter and demolish illegal buildings. The police are also asked to protect the chengguan against any violence they might provoke through the performance of their duties.

The office posted the draft regulation, which was formulated by the city's chengguan authority, on its website on July 13 after it had solicited public opinions on the matter from July 13 to August 12.