Peddlers battle in the street

Legitimate business: A shopper selecting fruits at a licensed stall in Beijing. — AFP

Cat-and-mouse game by unlicensed vendors and enforcement officers can sometimes become a deadly encounter.

THE sweltering heat this summer makes fruits sold at roadside stalls an appealing thirst-quencher.

“Yi yuan, yi yuan! (One yuan, one yuan!),” the peddlers called out as they slice d honeydew
while customers wasted no time in sinking their teeth into the crunchy fruit skewered
on a stick.

Street peddlers are a common sight in Beijing, just like any city elsewhere.

However, the unlicensed ones, or those operating their stalls in prohibited areas, have to be on constant alert and play a cat-andmouse game with the local authorities.

The chengguan – city management officers who take up enforcement roles – have received a fair share of negative publicity lately as they come down hard on street peddlers.

A few cases involved watermelon ven dors. On July 17, the officers were said to have hit a watermelon vendor, Deng Zhengjia, in Linwu, Hunan province, causing him to die on the spot.

According to news reports, the vendor and his wife were tra ding without a licence. Six chengguan involved in the incident have been detained by the police, while the Deng family has re ceived 897,000 yuan (RM475,000) as compensation.

In Harbin, Heilongjiang province, a watermelon vendor was also reported to be attacked by the chengguan on July 18. 

The vendor named Wu Wei claimed that he was hit on the head with a loudspeaker and brick when he asked the officers to return his weighing machine.

There was also an incident in Shichahai, Beijing, where a man named Tian Yudong set up a stall to sell lamps with his nine-year-old daughter for her to gain some real-life experience during the summer holiday.

Conflict erupted when the chengguan and Shichahai tourism management officers found them operating the stall again on July 25, a day after they were told to leave.

Four people – the father and three government officers – suffered injuries during the brawl.

However, the chengguan are not always the “villain”.

In Ewenke Qi, Inner Mongolia, a trader attacked two city management officers with a watermelon knife on July 17.

An argument ensued when the trader was ordered by the officers to relocate his roadside stall.

He stabbed one of the officers when the latter attempted to move his weighing machine and then attacked another officer who came fo rward to stop the scuffle. The second officer succumbed to his injuries.

These incidents sparked public debate over the balance between maintaining law and order, and the need to protect the live lihood of peddlers.

While some sympathise with the street vendors for struggling to make a living, others believe the presence of the chengguan is needed to ensur e order in society.

Occupying streets and walkways and cleanliness are some of the problems caused by the peddlers.

But, of course, physical and verbal violence by both sides should be condemned.

The clashes between the chengguan and peddlers remind me of the raids on illegal hawkers and food traders by the enforcement department of local councils in the Klang Valley.

The enforcement officers often acted based on complaints. For instance, licensed traders, who have to contribute to cleaning services and pay licence fees to trade in their given lots in a wet market, might feel being taken advantage of by illegal traders.

There was also the concern of food safety. Licensed food traders and their employees were required to attend food handling courses and take vaccination before they were all owed to open stalls.

While their enforcement work might appear cruel in the eyes of the public – confiscating the traders’ equipment and issuing compounds to those who have failed to abide by the law – they were carrying out duties entrusted to them.

Meanwhile, some heartening news emerged amid the reports on the recent clashes – the chengguan in Jinyun, Zhejiang province have come out with a “watermelon map”.

The map indicated temporary locations specially allocated for farmers to sell their produce in the city.

A commentary published in the Yanzhao Evening Post summed it up: “The ‘watermelon map’ paints the wisdom of urban management. 

It replaces high-handed management with compassionate service.”

> Tho Xin Yi ([e-mail]) welcomes the news of the “watermelon map” as a refreshing antidote to the vio lent incidents.