The city management authority of Shaoyang, Hunan province, is hiring members of the public to fine drivers for breaking car-parking regulations, saying 80 percent of the fines will be given to them as payment for their labor, says an article in Beijing News Daily. Excerpts:

The authority is breaking the law by doing so. The right of enforcement is granted by the public to official law enforcement organizations. This right cannot be casually contracted out to the other people. The purpose of city management is by no means to make money through fines, so the practice of Shaoyang is going in the wrong direction.