MANY fascinating and oft-repeated “facts” about China and its history are apocryphal. The Great Wall is not visible with the naked eye from space. Zhou Enlai did not tell Henry Kissinger, nearly two centuries after the French Revolution, that it was still “too soon to say” what it really meant. But another tale—that during the Cultural Revolution, Red Guards sought to switch the meaning of traffic lights so that green meant stop and red meant go—is true.

This year, Chinese politics and the colour of traffic lights have intersected once again. On January 1st the authorities required drivers to stop at yellow lights, regardless of speed or proximity to the crossing. Drivers running yellow lights were to be punished just like those running red ones. The penalty for both offences was doubled from three points to six; drivers accumulating 12 points in a year forfeit their licences until they complete a week-long course and pass an onerous exam.

The yellow-light provision was one of many tough changes in national traffic regulations. Others included prohibitions on drivers using mobile phones or smoking. But it was the yellow-light rule that caused the biggest uproar. Online comments recounted tales of screeching brakes and rear-end collisions. Others berated officials for ignoring Newtonian physics, and making China’s roads even more dangerous (no mean feat, considering the 62,000 road deaths recorded in China in 2011).

The official response to the uproar was prompt and surprisingly conciliatory. On January 6th the public-security ministry shifted into reverse, announcing that in the light of public opinion, it was suspending enforcement of the yellow-light rule while it re-examined the idea. For now, violators will be “educated” rather than punished. The announcement even thanked the “broad masses” for speaking up.

On non-political issues, the urban populace is ever less shy about challenging officialdom. But it is still rare for Chinese officials, especially the police, to yield to public opinion. Whether the episode heralds more significant shifts in the relationship between China’s rulers and ruled, it may be too soon to say.