Public anger over "parapolice" reveals city administration dilemma

DILEMMA

The law enforcers in the city administration were in an embarrassing situation themselves. Many people couldn't distinguish between them and the police. The city administrator’s job was widely known for its role in ridding the streets of illegal snack stands, pirated DVD vendors, beggars and distributors of commercial leaflets.

Whenever a parapolice wagon pulled over and a group of uniformed officers came out, vendors would scurry away in their trucks, bikes or tricycles, often leaving behind fruit, vegetables, snacks and toys.

In August 2006, a stressed-out sausage seller in Beijing waved a knife at an officer who had threatened to confiscate all his wares and his new tricycle, which he had bought with borrowed money.

The officer died and was named a hero. The vendor, 23-year-old Cui Yingjie, was sentenced to death with two year's reprieve.

The tragedy was just one extreme case of the endless conflicts between the law enforcement officers and peddlers. Sometimes bystanders were also involved; either by voicing sympathy for the peddlers and protesting against the law enforcement or by falling victims themselves.

A doggerel spread on the Internet best described the conflict: While police dealt with the "bad eggs" and market regulators watched the rich, the parapolice was always finding fault with the poor.

This was obviously not their real objective.

Law enforcement teams were established within the urban administrations of many Chinese cities from 1997 to deal with street peddlers who evaded taxes and messed up urban streets.

They were also responsible for maintaining public facilities, ranging from phone booths and manholes, banning spitting and littering in public and stopping construction sites from making too much noise at night.

"If the city is like a big family, then we're its housekeeper," said Xiao Kehe, director of the law enforcement bureau with the municipal administration in Xiangtan, a city in central Hunan Province.

Their scope of responsibility, as a result, kept expanding whenever new problems popped up in a city's administration.