Asanali, a young Uygur from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, has become well known in Guangzhou, the Guangdong provincial capital, since local media published stories about him.

The coordinator of chengguan (public order monitors) from the Jinhua neighborhood committee, Liwan district, has helped government agencies clean up the bustling Chen Clan Academy square, a must-see Guangzhou tourist site. The square used to be messy and chaotic because of the many ethnic minority street vendors in past years.

Every day, Asanali approaches the street hawkers, smiles, shake their hands and then politely reminds them to observe the civil order regulations.

"Chen Clan Academy is a State-level scenic site, and the city's image would be tarnished if you illegally hawk your wares here," he politely tells them in his native Uygur language.

Moved by his candor, courtesy and genuine smile, many hawkers who previously would argue with chengguan now leave the square and keep to the regulations as they sell their wares.

Asanali was a dancer in a scenic spot in Tianhe district before he was recruited as a chengguan coordinator by the Jinhua neighborhood committee in April 2012, after he passed examinations.

In the past two years, he has often been invited by chengguan in other districts to help deal with ethnic minority hawkers.

Encouraged by Asanali's good performance, the Guangzhou government recruited 10 Uygurs to help manage civil order in May.

Most became chengguan coordinators, but three have been appointed to work in police substations in the Haizhu, Liwan and Yuexiu districts.

The young Uygur recruits have contributed to Guangzhou's order and development.

On June 15, they helped police from Nanning, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, detain four Xinjiang suspects who had fled to Guangzhou after sending terrorist text messages.

On June 24, they helped Guangzhou police detain a suspected female terrorist from Xinjiang, and, on July 17, they helped detain another Xinjiang native suspected of committing a terrorist crime in Jilin province.

Two Uygurs, Adili and Ahmet, helped police round up 40 suspected pickpockets in the past three months.

Yang Bin, director of the city's Office of Comprehensive Management, said Guangzhou's young Uygur employees have contributed to maintaining civil order over the past few months.

"Recruiting Uygurs to work in Guangzhou is a new way to improve order and build a harmonious society, because they help the city iron out misunderstandings between residents and members of ethnic minorities," Yang said.

Chen Faqiang, a local office worker, said Guangzhou should recruit more members of ethnic minorities to further improve its efficiency and generate social harmony as more ethnic minorities come to work and live in the city.

zhengcaixiong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/05/2014 page4)