总领事博客
在路上的故事：
关于出租车、越规和法治社会
作者：英国驻广州总领事卢墨雪 翻译：泡沫
希望当你读到这篇博客的时候，刚度过了一个悠闲的中秋和国庆假期。入乡随俗，这段时间我按中国传统，基本都和我的家人在一起。我母亲和我的岳父母近期都在广州探望我们。几位都是耄耋之龄，行动甚为不便，所以我们出门基本都是打车。
应该说大部分载我们的出租车司机都十分友好、高效、乐于助人。不过我留意到每天下午四五点钟的时候，打车就不那么容易了。我听说这个时段，司机们得换班或赶着回家，所以很多车不愿意停下载客。运气好些的话，他们顶多停下来问问你要去哪个方向，看看顺不顺路再决定是带上你还是把你丢在路边。合乎常理的请求，譬如“我岳母已经88岁高龄，走路不方便”，在此时此地已经基本失效。对于我们一家子来说，这样的经历与广东之前给我们热情好客的印象确实背道而驰。
看到这里，你们也许会说，你是老外呀，不了解情况。但以我的理解，无故拒载已构成对出租车执照规范行为的违规。有一天我出门时，雨下得很大，又碰上拒载，我很生气，便拿出手机，装作要透过出租车车窗拍下方向盘一侧的车牌信息。该司机很快让步了，同意载我们回家并打表计费。然而整个过程令人感觉充满对抗，而我总认为应该存在一个更合理的方式来处理这样的情况。
于是我请一个中国同事帮忙打听：如果在广州遇到出租车拒载的情况，该如何投诉？我的同事思考了下，很明显并没有对我的“老外思维”和遭遇表示过分同情。之后我被告知，技术上还是有渠道可以投诉的：可以拨打广州交通委员会服务热线96900，或在其官方微博账号 @广州交通 留言；只是貌似极少受了委屈的乘客会选择投诉。为什么呢？
也许是因为大家不太相信投诉会得到及时有效的处理。我的中国同事感慨道，有可能我的情况会得到特殊处理，因为我是一名外交官。我听说几年前，武汉警察曾帮助一位外国人找回了丢失的自行车，事后网络充斥了中国居民的抱怨，如“为什么类似情况下，警察不同等尽力的帮助中国人？”
我不知道这个“外国人在中国求助，得到快速有效帮助”的例子是否反映普遍现实情况，我也不知道类似的例子多大程度上在广州会同样奏效。不过可以确定的是，如果面对违规行为没有人去投诉，肯定没人会代你采取行动，也不会有服务质量的改善。其实有关部门也需要居民的支持、反馈和参与，来共同建设一个更好的、服务大众的社会。
中国如今正大力建设“依法治国”的法治社会，作为社会进步的考量标杆之一。这是一个令人钦佩的重要改变。而中国的一些友邦也许可以提供相关经验参考，例如英国政府正致力于建立司法界以及社会组织的合作，通过各种项目来推动相关的能力建设。但这一切的根本前提是，若要真正改善人们的生活，普通公众也需要参与进来，贡献力量。
所以我呼吁中国的朋友们：下一次再遭遇坚持拒载的出租车司机，请不要因为麻烦而轻易放弃行动，或指望总会有其他人去处理类似的情况。我只是住在广州的一个外国人，我觉得不应该由我来建议大家要如何做。请根据你们的信念自行选择，要不要以及如何为建立自己的法治社会出一份力。
说回法治，我很高兴的宣布：本月（十月）下旬，我所服务的英国驻广州总领事馆将带来一场独特的重要文物公开展：签署于1215年的英国《大宪章》。这份珍贵的文物提出了限制王权和政府受限于法律的基本法治理念。为纪念《大宪章》面世800年，今年该原件文物在全球多个国家巡回展出。而在广州这重要一站，我们选择了一个特殊的展出地点（容许我先卖个关子保密），这个地点足以体现大宪章在国际范围的深远历史影响。关于该展览活动，请关注领馆在官方微博/微信（账号均为 @英国驻广州总领事馆）上将发布的系列热门话题：#英国大宪章800周年全球巡展广州站# ，请不要错过这场为期仅两天的精彩展览！
英语原文：
I hope that readers of this blog had a relaxing break during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays. As is traditional, I spent a lot of this period with my family. My mother and my parents-in-law are currently visiting us in Guangzhou. They are all over 80 years old, with reduced mobility. So we have been using taxis a lot, to get around and see the city.
Most of the cabbies who have picked us up have been friendly, efficient and helpful. I have noticed however that tracking down a taxi becomes much trickier between 4pm and 5pm, when drivers tend to be changing shifts or heading home. Many refuse to stop at all, while others demand to know where you are going before they will agree to take you on board. Appeals to common decency - "my mother-in-law is 88 and can't walk" - seem to have little effect in these circumstances. It's a really striking contrast to the usually impeccable hospitality of Cantonese people.
Now, readers will correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure that it is an infringement of a taxi driver's licence to refuse to pick up a passenger. On one occasion, when it was raining particularly hard and I was feeling quite grumpy, I produced my smartphone and made as if to take a picture through the taxi window of the cabbies' registration certificate on his dashboard. That quickly produced the desired result, and the driver agreed both to take us home and to use his meter. But the situation felt quite confrontational, and I felt sure there must have been a more culturally appropriate way for me to deal with this problem.
So I asked a Chinese colleague what was the right procedure for making a complaint about taxi drivers who refuse to stop. My colleague hesitated, clearly not wanting to patronise me with too much pity at my lack of understanding. Eventually I was told that, technically, a solution does exist. Aggrieved passengers can complain to the Guangzhou transport committee (telephone 96900 or Weibo account @广州交通) but it seems that relatively few do. Why is this?
Perhaps people believe it is unlikely that any effective action will be taken to follow up their complaints. My colleague commented ruefully that the authorities might make a special effort in my case, as I am a foreign diplomat. I am told that a couple of years ago, when the Wuhan police managed to track down a foreigner's stolen bicycle, netizens went online in huge numbers to complain that local Chinese would not get the same level of service.
I have no way of knowing whether that is a fair judgement. However, what is absolutely clear is that the best way to ensure that nobody takes action on your behalf is not to make a complaint in the first place. The authorities need our support and engagement as citizens if they are to be able to build a better society for everyone.
China is currently applying a great deal of effort into establishing Rule of Law as a guiding principle for improving the nation. It is an admirable and important campaign. Foreign friends of China can help of course: we in the UK Government are doing what we can, primarily through capacity-building programmes, working with the judiciary and with civil society organisations. But for any of this to mean anything, and to make a real difference in people's lives, ordinary citizens need to play their part too.
So I would urge Chinese friends: next time you encounter a recalcitrant cabbie, resist the urge to think it is too much of a bother to take action, or to leave it to somebody else to deal with the issue. It's not my place as a foreigner to tell you what the answer is. But please decide for yourselves how you can help to build the Rule of Law, and act on your convictions.
Talking of the Rule of Law, I am delighted to announce here that later this month the British Consulate-General will be making available for public exhibition a uniquely important cultural treasure: the Magna Carta of 1215. This venerable document clearly established the principle that even kings and governments are subject to due legal process. The Magna Carta is 800 years old this year and is touring the world to celebrate the anniversary. For its stopover in Guangzhou, we have selected a very special venue which will emphasise the international nature of its heritage. I don't want to spoil the surprise by saying more here, but watch out for the hashtag: #MagnaCarta800inGuangzhou. It is going to be a great show.
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