Mountains can't be turned into graffiti walls

CHEN ZHICHENG, a Beijing resident in his 50s, scrawled his name and some crappy verses in large-sized characters with red paint on some cliff faces and boulders in at least two mountainous scenic spots in Fangshan district of Beijing. A Beijing News commentary on Sunday suggested Chen be blacklisted and fined for his irresponsible behavior. Excerpts:

Chen said he painted his name and verses on the mountains as a "souvenir" for future generations because soon he will be too old to climb them. He also said he didn't know the region was a protected scenic spot until his "graffiti" went viral on social media.

Although Chen has apologized to the scenic spot administrative department and the public for his "misbehavior", and started removing his "works" with thinner, his remedial efforts have been futile because the thinner has only turned the red characters to pink.

Chen has left dozens of indelible marks on the mountains. But so far the administrative department seems to have accepted Chen's remedy project and apology, which means he may only face administrative penalty. Experts are needed to free the mountains of Chen's "graffiti".

In fact, Chen can be accused of intentional sabotage of public property given the grave consequences of his actions, and the judicial authorities should take appropriate action for that.

Also, the authorities should prepare a nationwide blacklist of tourists who destroy or damage places of tourist interests or public property, so that people learn to respect the sanctity of tourist spots.