Dear Chinese Government

Hi, I hope you're reading this - I have a little suggestion.

Please oh please oh please require all cabs in Beijing, and later on in the rest of China, to stop taking the seat belts out of the back seats, and put them back if they have. We foreigners, and I'm sure some Chinese, like them, and there's really no added convenience to not having them. Every time I take a cab, I worry that I may die because there isn't a seat belt to restrain me if I crash. I know I sound whiny, but I've been strapping in since Fred Flinstone used to tell me to buckle up for safety, and it's a hard habit to break.

I'll admit that Americans have gone kind of safety crazy with respect to kids and the numerous alarms, leashes, and other safety contraptions we've thrust upon them, but you really can trust us on this seat belt thing. They work.

Besides, don't you want to show how safety conscious you are during the Olympics? What better way than protecting your foreign friends with a good ol' an1 quan2 dai4?