Today, spiritual and material rewards should be equally stressed. Material rewards will not necessarily lead to a drop in moral standards as long as there is a whole system blocking those who attempt to take advantage.

Bo Wenjun (www.voc.com.cn): Since the Suqian police authorities' reward system is so effective and not against the law, it is feasible, at least for the present. Police patrols, dispute mediation and catching criminals are not the responsibilities or legal duty of ordinary citizens and sometimes the absence of a police force on the scene may lead to a more serious result. In this situation, developing a voluntary service on the basis of a reliable incentive mechanism, so as to achieve the best result at the least cost, is a better choice than passive waiting for good deeds without any motivation of profit.

Liu Chuhan (Xi'an Evening Daily): It's understandable if people worry benevolent actions are tainted by money. But that does not mean the advocacy of high moral standards should also be separated from material rewards. Proper material rewards will attract more people to participate in voluntary services, and enable the lifting of society's moral standards to the greatest extent.

No laws forbid payment to volunteers. It's wise for the local government to encourage more people to take part in voluntary services by offering financial rewards within its capacity.

Chi Xinmu (Chengdu Daily): For a long time, it is taken for granted that a person should not let his or her name be known to others or ask for a return when he or she has done a good deed. But in reality, people also value the virtue of "feeling a debt of gratitude for others' kindness."

The reward system in Suqian offers an effective mechanism to ensure security volunteers themselves can also benefit from their good deeds. This practice satisfies people of high moral standards psychologically and materially and in the meantime encourages other people's enthusiasm. When they know they'll be rewarded for their good deeds, more people will be prepared to do so and gradually the whole of society will make progress toward good order.

Tainted benevolence

Bi Xiaozhe (www.china.com.cn): To encourage people to fight criminal activities through rewards is well intended. But the ensuing wide participation in voluntary services is based on the incentive of money. So if material rewards fail to become a regular practice later because of the government's cutting of financial support, will the public maintain their enthusiasm?

More worrying is, once moral behavior starts to become measurable in money, a series of side effects will arise. People may tend to create disputes deliberately and earn money through mediating their settlement. If this happens, the government will have to change the policy or pay up.

The government does need to encourage people's volunteering spirit, but it seems improper to connect good deeds to cash rewards.

Xu Linlin (www.gmw.cn): It's reported the local police force in Suqian feel so understaffed that they have to mobilize the public to participate in security maintenance.

Unfortunately, the program may lead to a result opposite to the original expectations. First, to measure volunteers' benevolence with money is a belittling of high moral standards. Second, what happens with those who are not registered volunteers but who have also done good deeds and are not given rewards? Such an unfair regulation will surely be questioned by the people. Third, where do the local police authorities get the money to reward volunteers? Has it got the local legislature's consent for launching the reward system? Moreover, are the local police so powerful they can grant good volunteers the rights to enjoy preferential treatment in housing, schooling and health services? Isn't this an abuse of government power?

Wang Xuejin (www.sina.com.cn): Volunteers are those who never care about a return when they offer help to others and contribute to society. Since they are willing to be volunteers, they don't do it to be rewarded. If they do it for money, they are not volunteers in a real sense.

Benevolence can never be measured in money. When people do good deeds solely for money, can we expect volunteers to maintain noble intentions in doing so?

Liu Changhai (www.rednet.cn): We have seen many examples of using money and material rewards to encourage good deeds. Money is employed to bolster the sense of morality remaining in people's hearts. The tragedy is the majority of such attempts fail. Good people deserve rewards, but a reward is not necessarily expressed in money. To connect good deeds to money is self-contradictory and will never be a good shortcut to raising people's moral standards.

Yang Tao (www.sxgov.cn): If the government really wants to encourage the public's involvement in the maintenance of good social order, why doesn't it allow the establishment of nongovernmental organizations for this purpose and let them reward volunteers? What the government needs to do is to offer guidance and supervision and to ensure the program operates within a legal framework.