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Citizen reporting in Guangzhou

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Argument, kidnapping, riot police
This photo is one of a series posted today on SonicBBS.com's bulletin board showing police in riot gear running down a Guangzhou street. The photos are accompanied by the following text, in Chinese:
Tianhe Beilinhe Donglu, photographed from my balcony

Apparently the Xinjiang guy who opened a restaurant on this street got into an argument with a city official.

Afterwards, I don't know what happened but a cop got taken hostage. The hostage must be a chief ha ha.

UPDATE: ESWN has followed up on this story and translated an article from the Daily Express (also posted on QQ.com: Civilian reporting in Guangzhou

The incident arose when municipal administration workers got into conflict with people from a restaurant during the course of law enforcement. After a person from the restaurant was injured by the law enforcers, more than 30 people from the restaurant gathered together and used axes and poles to face off against the municipal administration workers and police officers. Some of those people were even upset enough to bring out at least five gas canisters and placed them in front of the municipal administration and police vehicles. During that time, the gas canisters were turned on and off several times. After two hours of negotiations, the matter was finally resolved.
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There are currently 5 Comments for Citizen reporting in Guangzhou.

Comments on Citizen reporting in Guangzhou

城管 isn't a city official but rather, if I remember correctly, the guys who ride around busting people who illegally set up shop on the sidewalks and the like. Interfering with people's livelihoods often leads to conflict, though rarely does it end up like this with cops being taken hostage.

No big deal, just a FYI.

That's right, but how do you translate "guys who ride around busting people who illegally set up shop on the sidewalks and the like" into one word?

This is what a Chinese co-worker told me about the incident. He and another co-worker had gone to the area (on the other side of the block from our offices) for lunch at one of two Xinjiang food restaurants.Apparently the restaurants were having a dispute, probably turf war, and the they got into somewhat of a brawl (there were two guns, not fired, my coworker said.)

It was intimated that maybe the restaurants had protection gangs who were the participants.

Funny thing, yesterday before I knew any of this I had decided to have lunch at one of those resaurants today. Will go. Excellant la mian.

Did have lunch at the la mian shop. Went next door after eating and in my poor putonghua talked to some waitresses at the other restaurant and indeed, one of them acknowledged the commotion yesterday. She indicated it was over one of those Uighar type charcoal cookers on the sidewalk in front of the retaurants, belonging I think to the la mian shop.

The more people with video cameras, the less the power of government to censor.

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