Street food vendors told to pack it in
- Source: Global Times
- [08:29 July 16 2010]
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"Sometimes I make 2,000 yuan ($295) a month, but if business is good I can make up to 10,000 yuan ($1,476)," he said. "If they try and fine me I'll just pay.
"I don't think they can charge me more than 100 yuan ($14.70) at a time anyway," he added. "It would be worth paying if it meant I could continue selling more crayfish."
Dai Xingyi, a professor of environmental economics for the Urban Environment Man-agement Research Center at Fudan University, who supports the move which aims to curb the provision of unhealthy food in the city, said that the government needs to go one step further by making alternative job opportunities available for these vendors to ensure the regulation benefits society as a whole.
But according to Gu Jianguang, a professor of public administration for the School of International and Public Affairs at Jiao Tong University, the law unfairly discriminates against the vendors who have a right to their livelihood.
"The government could go about tackling the problems that come about from street food vendors in other ways," he told the Global Times Thursday. "They could provide basic indoor rooms and give them a tax break.
"Making them shut down altogether is not a reasonable solution, especially given that many residents enjoy eating street food at night," he added.
Meanwhile, many residents Thursday were saddened by the news, wondering if last evening would really be their last chance to savor the flavor of meat on a stick, a popular choice for street food in the city.
"Street food is an integral part of Shanghai night life," Dong Hao, 30, told the Global Times Thursday. "It is not only cheap, but also delicious - and I can't imagine life without it."
