Naming and shaming criminals is nothing new, but recording their nefarious deeds for all time brings a new twist to this method of understanding and dealing with the social issue of crime.

Chuzhou, a city in east China's Anhui Province, stirred up a hornet's nest of controversy in early February when the city fathers decided to include the names of past and present criminals convicted of serious crimes in the local annals.

Local residents opposed to this move argued that this blatant form of discrimination would have a negative impact on the families of criminals recorded. Bu Ping, a member of the Chuzhou Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the local advisory body, refused to accept the idea of criminals' names being included in the city's historical records, saying it actually runs counter to the original intention of these records that is to convey a sense of pride, encouragement and form of education by the positive deeds of those heralded people in history.

In response, people like Zhang Xianglin, Director of Chuzhou Chronology Office, challenged that the biographies of "historical figures" should be the most vital part of the local annals. Whether criminals or aristocrats, the only criterion for selection should be the influence that person had on the social development of the area. It is out of this consideration that criminals were proposed to be included in the chronological records of the city, along with the opportunity to raise awareness of and be a preventative measure for those considering committing crime.

The Chuzhou Annals, which is updated every two decades, are reportedly to be completed soon. According to officials responsible for compiling matters, biographies of renowned local people and historical figures will be included in it so as to enrich the chronological contents. So far, more than 900 candidates, including politicians and other social elites such as educators, artists and bankers, have been chosen by an opinion poll among local citizens. Meanwhile, many criminals are also likely to be listed, including notorious Chen Zhaofeng, former Party chief of Dingyuan County, who is serving a life sentence for corruption.