Rule by law means that no one is above the law, not even governments.

The city of Shenzhen in South China has just withdrawn controversial stipulations by its municipal bureau of housing and construction whereby rural migrant workers were forbidden from visiting the government in groups to claim their wages in arrears or they would face charges if there were "serious consequences".

The stipulations were intended to create a harmonious environment for the summer Universiad the city will host in September. But the local government has announced that it will reword the measures that contained misexpressions.

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The original stipulations also required enterprises not to default on payments to their workers. If a delay in paying workers caused social unrest or other public incidents, the companies involved would be given a red-level warning for three months and barred from any construction projects in the city during that period.

No matter how it is worded, workers have the right to ask for their payments in arrears and the Constitution has provided them with the right to ask the government for help. How can they be deprived of the right to do so simply because of an international sports event?

Neither the Constitution, nor any other law, grants a local government the right to prohibit citizens from exercising their legal rights even for a limited period of time.

For employers, the warning and punishment have long been overdue. It is a shame we still have to wait. If the Shenzhen government had taken effective measures earlier there would be very few enterprises bold enough to default on their employees' wages and thus the government would not be facing this issue now.

It is quite understandable that the Shenzhen government wants to present itself as an advanced, civilized and harmonious city to the world by hosting this Universiad. But such a city is built by adhering to the rule by law.

In addition, there is no city in the world that is completely free from problems. It is natural for Shenzhen, a very young city with an urban history of only three decades, to have problems of its own. A government is paid by taxpayers to solve problems for them.

The Shenzhen government should have the courage and confidence to let the world see it as it is.

If employers do not pay their employees, the government should impose penalties on them. If migrant workers need help to get their payment in arrears, the government has the obligation to extend a helping hand.

Even if some migrant workers gather before the government asking for help during the Universiad, so what?

Timely and effective help from the local government would bring nothing but a credit to it.

(China Daily 05/10/2011 page8)