After my last column - on China's need for harsher laws - was printed two weeks ago, many readers left comments online pointing out that what is really needed in this country is proper execution of the laws.

I totally agree with them. Actually I wrote a column about two or three years ago commenting on the poor enforcement of laws in China. One example I cited was the wanton use of the "emergency lane", or the shoulder of expressways, by motorists. Other media columnists have also written commentaries criticizing the traffic police for turning a blind eye to the phenomenon.

This practice is still with us. On Sunday I was driving on an expressway from a suburb to downtown Beijing when I hit a traffic jam, which was caused by a road accident a few hundreds yards ahead. Most vehicles inched along, but a few drivers passed quickly by on the hard shoulder ignoring the "No Driving on the Emergency Lane" sign behind the guardrail.