News from Singapore about our bicycle-sharing experiment have not been pleasant.

In China, the same problems exist, if not worse, as the abuse sustained in the bike-sharing gig economy is on a far larger scale given the size of the country.

But the Chinese are hoping for a solution -- and the solution they are hoping for, quite astonishingly, seems to lie in Singapore’s no-nonsense approach.

And the Chinese are looking to us for answers.

Shared bicycle left disfigured and in ruins in Sichuan, Chengdu. Image from Online Sichuan News.

When news broke that four teens in Singapore were arrested for an incident where an oBike bicycle was thrown into a canal, it travelled to China, where Chinese netizens promptly praised Singapore’s manner of dealing with the situation in our legalistic manner.

Here are six of the most read and commented Chinese news of this incident, where all the top comments were in favour of Singapore’s system:

From Caijing News:

"This is called governing with the rule of law"

"Singapore doesn't allow little gangsters and little red guards to get away it, I approve"

"I suggest for this to be introduced in China"

From Shicha Video:

"It'd be good if this is implemented in China; the offenders would then stop defending themselves and own up to their faults"

"Singapore is doing the right thing. Easily sentenced to six months of jail over there, while the charges in China are still so light"

From China Newsweek:

"Hopefully China would implement such sentencing for bike-sharing offenders"

"Strict laws have an advantage!"

"Whether a country is civilised depends upon the degree of a country's legal implementation"

From Maopu:

"Singapore's law is what we should learn from - severe punishment"

"And that is why civility depends upon supervision. If this isn't the case, why would they want to keep their caning sentence? How can we rely on mere education and self-discipline?"

From Beijing News:

Top comment: "If the same case in China receives the same sentence, bike-sharing will be better"

First reply: "Singapore knows that human nature is evil, and only severe punishment can maintain social stability."

Second reply: "It isn't that foreigners are more cultured, it is mainly because they have implemented laws and regulations!"

From Sina Finance:

Top comment: "The severity of punishment is high, that is why people are afraid"

Reply: "Well said. Because our punishment isn't severe enough, that is why there are so many cases of people who steal, vandalise, destroy, break locks, and fix their own locks in China"

"In our country, we call these 14 year-olds 'disobedient children', and at most we'll just criticise their upbringing; once we compare to this, we see the truth - 'disobedient [Chinese] children' must be secretly beaming in delight"

"We really need such laws too"

So, it appears, the Chinese do find Singapore's approach an attractive option, especially when they read that the offenders were liable to be fined and jailed.

In China, they are probably sick and tired of offenders getting away lightly with a slap on the wrist, even though applying Singapore's no-nonsense approach does mean using the state to penalise culprits as flouting the law when they abuse or destroy bicycles belonging to private bike-sharing companies.

Here's a totally unrelated but equally interesting article:

Quiz: What type of BBQ friend are you?

Top image from Imagine China

If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest updates.