In a bid to save energy and reduce carbon emission, some local governments in Shandong and Sichuan provinces are encouraging officials to ride bicycles when they go out on business within a 3-kilometer radius. Although it is a positive step in the right direction, some people think it is more of a show, which can be "dropped" any time, says an article on qianlong.com. Excerpts:

The phenomenon of riding bicycles during official visits has some inherent shortcomings.

First, it lacks executive force. The directive to ride a bicycle in principle is just a "request", which does not prescribe disciplinary measures against those who don`t. In other words, an official will not be punished if he/she takes a taxi or an official car to office.

Second, no senior official has used a bicycle yet. It will be a meaningless exercise if only ordinary government workers follow the directive, because many of them are not entitled to use official vehicles.

And third, if the number of official cars is not reduced, the exercise will end up using more taxpayers` money to buy bicycles.

A Shandong official said the exercise was aimed at prompting officials to choose environmentally friendly means of transport and minimize the use of official cars to reduce emission from vehicles.

But the authorities cannot make the directive mandatory because they fear that doing so could compromise work efficiency. Hence, it is not known whether using bicycles will become a long-term policy.

Given the energy situation in the country, the attitude and actions of local governments are very important. Extravagant acts such as buying more official cars and luxurious official facilities are contrary to the energy-saving policy.

Only if low-carbon activities become part of officials` behavior can people realize the importance of saving energy.