The charm of a city is not the level of its tolerance, but the humanistic care and warmth it offers to disadvantaged groups. Last week, Beijing's urban administration and civil administration departments launched an intensive winter relief camp to persuade people forced to sleep on the streets to move to relief centers, which was met with a cold response. But the authorities shouldn't abandon their efforts to help destitute people, says an article in Beijing Times. Excerpts:

It is not new for people used to sleeping on the streets to refuse to shift to relief centers.

There are three main reasons why they do so. First, the lack of understanding among the staff at such centers has produced a sense of fear and strangeness among destitute people. Second, a relief center is less convenient for such people and many of them, such as professional beggars, could even lose their "jobs". And third, many of them know that they would ultimately be sent back home, which they want to avoid.

Since the homeless are quite defensive, it would be better if officials adopted a friendly and patient attitude to persuade them to move into relief centers. The officials have to explain to people used to sleeping on the streets that relief centers are more comfortable and convenient.

Besides, the authorities could build open shelters, which are less formal than the existing relief centers, to provide temporary shelter to professional beggars and garbage collectors, instead of forcing them to return to their villages and towns.

A more flexible institutional arrangement could help clear the streets of destitute people.

Since the existing relief system is "non-professional", experts argue that more legal substratum and management measures are needed to deal with professional beggars, especially because persuasion alone cannot stop them from begging.

Also, more measures have to be taken to make the system perfect.