Beggars in eastern China have improved their takings by accepting donations via mobile phone.

中国东部地区一些乞讨者的收入有所增加，因为他们接受手机支付的捐款。

Pictures of a beggar with a printout of a QR code — a type of barcode — round his neck in Jinan, Shandong province, have raised eyebrows¹ after appearing on social media. The man is among several beggars accepting cash-free payments in the city. He is said to have a mental illness and was given the QR code by his family.

山东省济南市的一名乞讨者把二维码打印出来挂在胸前，这张照片被人上传到社交网络上，让人们惊叹。他是济南市多名接受非现金支付的乞讨者之一。据称他患有精神疾病，二维码是他家里人给他做的。

In China’s increasingly cashless society, the code allows passers-by to donate by scanning the code with their phone. Beijing News said: “A beggar armed with a smartphone and adept² in operating his or her account is probably not a person that is really in need. Technology is supposed to make life and work easier, but should never become a means for those who want to thrive without making any contribution to the world.”

中国日益步入无现金社会，二维码让路人可以用手机扫码的方式捐钱。《新京报》称：“有智能手机还会使用手机支付的人可能不是真正需要帮助的人，科技应该让生活和工作更加便利，而不是成为不劳而获的手段。”

It urged people to “boycott³ these professional beggars” and said that the police should prevent them from harrassing others.

新京报》敦促人们“抵制职业乞讨者”，并称警察应该防止他们骚扰别人。

As many as 60 percent of China’s 700 million internet users make payments via their phone, using Wechat, which is owned by Tencent, or its rival Alipay, owned by Alibaba. Wechat users need only to have a mobile phone number to register and accept payments, which can be linked to a bank account or used to spend directly from the phone.

中国7亿网民中多达60%都使用手机支付，他们使用腾讯微信，或者阿里巴巴支付宝。微信用户只需要手机注册就可以接受付款，账号与银行卡绑定或直接用手机消费。

Some social media users praised the beggar. “Even beggars are keeping up with the times. There is no excuse for ordinary people like us,” one wrote on Weibo. Others were less kind. “I wouldn’t give a penny to him,” one wrote. “He’s capable of working and walking, not to mention using a smartphone.”

一些社交网络用户称赞这名乞讨者。有网友在微博上写道：“连乞讨者都与时俱进，我们还有什么理由不努力呢。”还有些人就没这么友好了，“我一分钱都不会给他，他有能力工作，也有能力走动，更不要说使用智能手机了。”