Pedestrians walk past a branch of Chinese real estate agency Lianjia, also known as Homelink, in Shanghai, China, 20 September 2015. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING HOMELINK Real Estate Brokerage Co announced on Saturday that as of May 25, its 6,000 branches across the country will become emergency alert stations for children who are separated from their parents. This has aroused criticism from the police. Beijing Times commented on Tuesday:

The police in Chongqing in Southwest China advised on their official micro blog that children who become separated from their parents remain in the area where they become lost and wait for their parents to find them.

The police in Jiangsu province have criticized Homelink for using children in a vulnerable situation as a publicity stunt.

Since 1983 when a company in the United States linked up with a non-profit organization to publicize profiles of missing children, campaigns of this sort have become common.

However, if they are marketing in the guise of public interest with no real social welfare benefits, then this type of activity is not only contrary to business ethics but might also break the law. Even if people believe that the real estate chain is genuinely trying to protect children, it still needs to answer the following questions:

First, as a business, do they have the right to take on the role of the police?

Second, if they do, to what extent will the stores participate? The 6,000 branches nationwide may seem a lot, but their distribution throughout the country is extremely limited compared to the 40,000 police stations.

Third, how will it ensure that all its employees fulfill their "public interest obligations" in this campaign? If an accident occurs, it may be hard for them to bear the legal consequences.