Editor,

I can only agree on the opinion about elevator ladies, the people who try to get some order in the rush hour traffic in Beijing (even they fail quite often) or separate and recycle trash (Elevator ladies, checkout clerks and the human touch, November 26).

In the past 18 years I have been visiting Beijing regularly, sometimes several times a year. In 1987, during my first visit to China, I reacted to elevator ladies in the same way as the expat friend of the author. I used to live in a friend's flat in a compound for diplomats at Jianguomenwai. During that time, I was indeed convinced that these ladies were not only there for security reasons but also obliged to report on the people who go in or out of these buildings to whoever was interested to know.

When I met my (Chinese) wife in Beijing, it was quite a big deal when I entered the compound in Xicheng District, where my wife's family lived, for the first time. I guess everybody in the building knew right away that a foreigner had entered their house.

Nowadays I almost miss the elevators where there is an elevator lady, knitting some socks for her grandchildren, handing out the mail and pushing the button for the right floor without having to be told.

Here in Europe and in Switzerland in particular we have become such an efficient society that there is hardly any work (and money) anymore to give people like that a job. We face a growing number of unemployed people, many of them with little education who have only a small chance of ever getting a job.

It is not only a matter of money (it is important, too) but also a question of being a useful member of our society, of being able to participate in daily life and being respected for providing a service even if it is only a simple one.

Beijing people should be aware of this. How many people would be unemployed, hanging around on the streets if we didn't have these little jobs anymore like fixing bikes on the street, selling newspapers and picking up paper. They are part of a huge service industry and make our lives a little bit more convenient.

I'm sometimes quite shocked when I see how badly some Beijing people (very often middle class people) treat the waitresses in restaurants, the sales girls in shops, the caddies at the golf course or even their maids at home. I can only say that the services in Beijing are usually much better than here in Europe and we should appreciate the work of these people, who usually come from poorer provinces in China and do their job for very little money.

Ueli Merz, Zurich, Switzerland

(China Daily 12/07/2005 page4)