Chengguan target peddlers for Expo
- Source: Global Times
- [11:04 April 16 2010]
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By Ye Jun
Shanghai is going to get tough on street vendors harassing visitors before the Expo by setting up surveillance cameras at tourist hot spots, local city administration officers, or chengguan, told the Global Times Thursday.
Video cameras will be set up to help collect evidence in the area around Waibaidu Bridge and the Bund where flocks of peddlers and shoe shiners can often be found clustering around tourists, especially foreigners.
"All will be ready before the Expo begins," Li Disheng, an officer from Hongkou district's chengguan brigade told the Global Times, adding that they are determined to curb "uncivilized" public behavior and help polish Shanghai's image before the tourists arrive.
A local resident, surnamed Shen, witnessed a middle-aged woman forcing a foreigner to have his shoes shined, according to Wednesday's Shanghai Morning Post, which was reviewing stories about "uncivilized" behavior on the Bund and surrounding tourist spots.
The woman applied some shoe wax on the foreigner's shoes without permission and convinced him to pay 100 yuan ($14.6) for the service.
Zhou Yourong, chief security officer at the Astor House Hotel, told the Global Times that there are several peddlers and vendors puttering around their hotel, targeting their customers.
"This is rather annoying and has been causing trouble," said Zhou. "It certainly doesn't help the Bund's refurbished glamour."
Street vendors trying to sell cheap watches, leather, or souvenirs are all over Shanghai's famous tourist attractions. "But in Bali and India, they harass you more," Des Fitz, a tourist from Ireland, said on his first day in Shanghai.
Vendors have been a long-time headache for chengguan. "By the time we arrive, they disappear," said Yu, a staffer with the Hongkou district's chengguan brigade. "What we can normally do is just persuade them to leave."
"We will cooperate with the police. More of our officers will be sent on regular patrol," said Li. "Those who disrupt public order are subject to administrative penalties including warnings and fines."
Li also mentioned that illegal vendors face fines up to 500 yuan ($73.2), but no more details about surveillance were disclosed.
