Opinion | Datong residents kneel down to plea for mayor to stay on

While it is not unusual to see villagers in China sometimes kneeling to petition for their rights or to seek justice from senior officials, Datong residents have gone down on their knees to plea for a popular mayor to remain in office.

Geng Yanbo has been mayor of Datong - a coal-producing city in northern Shanxi province - since 2008. But on Friday, he was ordered to step down and become vice-mayor following a decision by a regional government committee. It is still unclear what prompted the decision.

When news of his demotion was announced, thousands of residents took to the streets to petition for Geng to remain mayor, chinanews.com reported.

Dozens of residents then knelt and chanted: “Mayor Geng, please come back, Datong is your home.”

Datong news centre director Gu Shengming said several officials even wept during Geng’s farewell party. “I was also having a hard time, simply because Geng was such a fine mayor,” Gu added.