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.