China’s propensity for surveillance has become infamous worldwide. On the country’s roads in particular. Now, in addition to cameras tracking drivers’ every move at intersections, Jiangsu police have unleashed a new anti-crime weapon, one that flies and shouts.
It was during the National Day holiday, in order to ensure safe and orderly traffic flow, that traffic police in coastal Lianyungang City of northern Jiangsu Province took the unusual step of deploying drones to monitor illegal parking at potential choke points along the local highways.
国庆长假期间，为保障交通安全有序，江苏省北部沿海地区连云港市交警出奇制胜，部署无人机对当地高速公路沿线潜在拥堵点违章停车进行监控。
That’s when drivers who had parked their vehicles by the roadside heard the admonishment. “The traffic police team kindly reminds you to please abide by the traffic rules when travelling on National Day”, came the announcement from the drone flying overhead.
这时，把车停在路边的司机们听到了警告。头顶上空飞过的无人机传来这样的消息：“交警队温馨提示，国庆出行请遵守交通规则。”
So far, so polite. But Guannan County Public Security Bureau had more in store for offending drivers parked at the intersection of the 204 National Highway and Xingang Avenue, adjacent to the exit from the G25 Expressway.
到目前为止，还是很有礼貌的。但灌南县公安局对204国道与新港大道交叉口、G25高速公路出口附近停车的违规司机采取了更多措施。
“The vehicle you are driving is suspected of illegal parking; please drive away immediately”, one drone said in a considerably sterner tone.
“您驾驶的车辆涉嫌违章停车，请立即驶离”，一架无人机语气相当严厉。
With the aim to eliminate potential traffic-safety hazards to the greatest extent, as of 3 October, the police had used several drones to successfully persuade the drivers of more than 50 vehicles to remove them from the roadside.
为最大程度消除交通安全隐患，截至10月3日，警方已使用多架无人机成功劝说路边50余辆车辆驶离。
According to the Yangtze Evening News, the official policy behind the drones’ deployment was “to strengthen traffic-safety publicity, road patrol inspection and control, and traffic-violation-evidence collection”.
据扬子晚报报道，部署无人机背后的官方政策是“加强交通安全宣传、道路巡逻检查和控制、交通违法证据收集”。
As this latest example shows, there is increasingly-little escape for drivers who have a quick scant for cameras in the vicinity before deciding to leave their vehicles where they present a concern for safety.
正如这个最新的例子所表明的那样，对于那些在附近很快就找不到摄像头的司机来说，在决定将车辆停放在存在安全隐患的地方之前，他们的逃生机会越来越小。
Now, just because there isn’t a surveillance camera around, that doesn’t mean one won’t turn up without warning, from the skies above.
现在，仅仅因为周围没有监控摄像头，并不意味着有人不会在没有警告的情况下从空中出现。
George Orwell would have been proud.
乔治·奥威尔一定会感到自豪。
