A mediation room named "Suan Niao" (literally "forget it") at the Hongshan district Nanhu people's court of Wuhan, Hubei province, adopts a humorous approach to solving disputes. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
A mediation room named "Suan Niao" (literally "forget it") at the Hongshan district Nanhu people's court of Wuhan, Hubei province, has adopted a humorous local cultural symbol to settle more than 500 cases since it was set up.
The room's name is a local phrase commonly used by neighbors or passersby to stop people from fighting each other. It has spawned a plush toy of a chubby white bird with a green garlic sprout on its head. Pressing the toy produces a recording that repeats the phrase "suan niao, suan niao". Suan means garlic, and niao means bird. The toy has become one of this year's most popular gifts in the area.
One of the room's first cases was a rental dispute. Wang, who had leased part of a venue for training services, sued the landlord Chen after Chen failed to pay rent to the building management on time, which forced Wang to move out immediately. Chen, angered by the lawsuit, argued that Wang shouldn't have sued him directly and accused Wang of previously disrupting his business.
A mediation room named "Suan Niao" (literally "forget it") at the Hongshan district Nanhu people's court of Wuhan, Hubei province, adopts a humorous approach to solving disputes. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
After reviewing the case, Judge Cao Yunyang advised them to seek mediation to save time and expense, but neither was willing to sit with the other. Finally, Cao gave each man a Suan Niao toy, whose childlike sound broke the tension in the room.
"Many people understand the legal reasoning, but still need a small nudge to let it go. Introducing the Suan Niao toy at the right moment can break the stalemate and help mediation proceed," Cao said.
Chief Judge Yang Jie said: "The Suan Niao approach is far from simply trying and patching things up. It uses the law as a standard, and reason and empathy as a bridge to reach consensus within the legal framework."
