Obama Youth Corps, Chinese Version?

Below copied from the Shanghaiist blog.  Oh my, what we have to look forward to.

From Mop:

I signed up for Chengguan Youth Special Forces

Chengguan, literally one who manages the city. But you probably haven’t heard of ChengguanYouth. Sunday, I was one of them.

Morning, I punctually reported to school. After a while, 6 chengguan uncles came from the bureau. First, the uncles explained to us the damages street vendors inflict upon the city’s image, such as traffic congestion, unsanitary foods, and poor-quality products.

Afterward, a chengguan uncle gave us military training. First, he showed us the correct standing and at ease positions. Because we’ve practiced in school, we did pretty well. But we spent  a lot of time on walking in synchronization. Uncle taught us the basic postures, but when we started practicing, everyone was like robots, moving very stiffly. Uncle mimicked the way we had walked, and we laughed.

With training finished, our class of 17 was divided into 2 groups, one went along Yanjiang Street to work as chengguan, the other went to People’s Park. Chengguan Uncle brought us to an entertainment area in People’s Park. There were many street vendors. Chengguan Uncle gave us a demonstration. He went up to a street vendor, pointed at the toys that were on sale, and said to the owner, ‘This is a public area, selling your products here will influence those that come to exercise. Hurry, take everything away, don’t sell here!’ After hearing Chengguan Uncle, the vendor immediately gathered his things and discreetly went away. Seeing Chengguan Uncle’s excellent tactics, some vendors quietly left without us approaching. I, too, deeply respect this Chengguan Uncle.

One enemy had been eliminated, we made for the next one. Just then, Chengguan Uncle saw an old grandmother resting her foot on a small tree, and told us, the task of stopping the old lady is yours. We accepted the duty, and approached the target. But as we got to the old grandmother, we hesitated. I was in a dilemma, should I do this or not? A question appeared in my mind: why not? Because I was frightened? No, I was a man! I gathered my courage, walked up, and said to the old lady: ‘Grandmother, if you rest your feet on the tree, it won’t grow.’ The old lady was understanding, and lowered her foot.

Then, we stopped a few aunties from washing clothes in the river. An entire morning passed this way, but it was a very happy and productive morning.

We were featured in the newspaper. I am very honored to have been a Chengguan Youth.