Gov't sets up consumer rights protection, emergency lines in English

Local government bodies and service industries are organizing services in both Chinese and English to make life easier for Expo tourists this spring.

The city's first English-language consumer rights protection hotline was opened earlier this month, meaning that foreigners can now call 12365 to report issues relating to the quality of foodstuffs and other products.

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The hotline, launched by the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision, also deals with inquiries such as product information.

Statistics show that about 152,100 foreigners lived and worked in Shanghai in 2008, an increase of 1,880 people, or 14.4 percent, from 2007. During the May-October 2010 Shanghai World Expo, 3.5 million foreigners are expected to visit Shanghai.

"Having a 24-hour hotline will make foreigners who live or consume in Shanghai feel more comfortable about reporting counterfeit or low-quality products," said Ji Xiaoye, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technology Supervision.

"They can receive what we like to call a 'no barrier service' in the fields of consumer rights protection and product quality information."

Meanwhile, foreign investors will have access to investment consulting services under the new bilingual version of the hotline, another initiative launched by the bureau in conjunction with major enterprises in the city such as GM.

The Shanghai subway authorities launched English-learning groups earlier in cooperation with professional English training agencies in the city to provide a better service during this year's World Expo.

The city's metro department gives its staff a tailor-made textbook of frequently used phrases named "Subway Service English" while also organizing competitions to make learning fun, subway officials said.

Meanwhile, the municipal Public Security Bureau said it will add an English-language component to its 110 hotline this year, using translators. It has already selected 100 volunteers from the police force, according to Zhang Xiong, deputy director of the Expo Security Office.

"We want to remove the language barrier so we can dispatch police as fast as possible to resolve problems. Staff will be on standby to provide interpretation in English, French, German, Spanish and other languages," he said.

Lin Gengming, a Korean medical equipment salesman who has lived in Shanghai for two years, welcomed the new measures.

"Though I can speak a little Chinese and some English, it would make my life here a lot easier if more Korean services were launched," he said.

New Yorker Chad Jacobs described this as another step towards Shanghai's complete internationalization.

"More and more foreigners speaking different languages will come to Shanghai given the rapid development of the city and China," he said.

"Bilingual services are already a fact in other more developed metropolises around the world like New York, Paris and London. In New York, Spanish or French always come as an alternative when you are calling government agencies."