OREANDA-NEWS. July 20, 2012.   China's "chengguan," or urban management officers, have made headlines time and again in the country for their violent methods of enforcement, with some of the officers engaged in deadly fighting with those who appear to have violated urban regulations.

But this week, central China's city of Hefei is launching a new effort to change the public image of the officers by employing three foreigners to patrol the streets as volunteer "chengguan."

The three volunteers, hailing from South Africa, the Central African Republic and Afghanistan, are patrolling the Luyang district, persuading roadside peddlers to remove their wares from sidewalks.

All students at Anhui University, the three said they volunteered as a way to contribute to the local community and experience life as an urban management officer.

"I learned about this occupation through watching Chinese news. They (urban management officers) often fight with street vendors, much like in my home country," said "Qin Bo," the volunteer from South Africa.

Using "polite" vocabulary and a persuasive tone, Qin convinced several sidewalk vendors to move off the pavement Wednesday morning without engaging in conflict.

"The peddlers are nice to us, since we're foreigners. But I believe that if given enough respect and mutual understanding, Chinese officers could solve problems just as easily," Qin said.

Although some have accused municipal authorities of using the volunteers for publicity, others believe that the popularity and success of the foreign "chengguan" should set an example for urban management in other cities.

China's urban management officers were introduced in the 1990s to handle miscellaneous urban management issues that are not handled by other government departments. Their work ranges from evicting vendors from sidewalks to demolishing illegally erected buildings.

The parapolice force has been widely criticized following a spate of scandals involving excessive force and occasionally brutal violence.

Pang Ce, an urban management official in Luyang, said the district hopes that the foreign urban management officers will raise public attention regarding the work done by city managers.

"To many people, the word 'chengguan' has become synonymous with violence. We want to change this by inviting college students, office workers and street vendors to learn how the officers conduct their work," Pang said.

A variety of urban management "reforms" designed to improve the officers' image have been implemented in other cities.

Southwest China's metropolis of Chengdu organized an eye-catching squad of female urban management officers last year, sending them on patrols wearing roller skates.

Urban management officers in central China's city of Wuhan engage in "staredowns" with people who attempt to purchase items from law-breaking sidewalk vendors, convincing the vendors to leave areas not specified for peddling by embarassing their customers.

However, experts said changing urban authorities' hard-line approach toward unlicensed vendors and recognizing their role in urban life is the real solution to improving the officers' image and preventing future violence.

Song Zhigang, an urban management officer in Beijing who recently published a book about his experiences, said officers are often caught between conflicting views on urban management.

"Some blame you for nipping the peddlers' livelihoods, while others accuse them of blocking traffic. All are taxpayers, so who shall we listen to?" Song wrote.