I want to introduce the discussion with you about the injustices that existed in the urban management department in China. Originally, the Urban Management Enforcement Bureau is established for people living in the city to receive better life quality and improve the appearance of the city, defined by Wikipedia. However, the violent enforcement method by the urban management officers, also called chengguan in China, has been criticized and resisted for the long term in society. The cases of violent enforcement by urban management officers happened frequently in China’s society.
Here are video and image about violent enforcement by the urban management officer that happened recently:
I have heard of numerous similar circumstances many times. Therefore, to strengthen my understanding of these situations, I made interviews with some peddlers and street vendors around my house. They told me that the economic depression due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus forced them to set up the street stalls. Although violent enforcement happened all the time, the increasing number of street vendors brought much more violent enforcement to them. Their stalls were destroyed, and people were hit, but the officers were not punished or influenced by law. There were even some officers who asked them for protection fees. After listening to their experience, I realized the identity of these street vendors was closely related to the “Subaltern”. They cannot “speak” or claim their rights, who like a marginal community that was isolated by society. The urban management officers had no right to beat them and destroy their personal property, which severely violated the civil right of street vendors. There were, though, many news reported the violent enforcement, but the government did nothing and made few rectifications on the urban management department. The voice of these peddlers was never listened to and respected.
Here is a link to news reporting some violent enforcement cases by chengguan:
http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1899773,00.html
As said by Ramzy, “Conflict between vendors and city-management officers has existed for years, but the government has made little progress in reducing it.” (Ramzy). The neglect of government and massive violent enforcement cases, in my perspective, was the representation of systemic injustice. That was systematic inadequacies that contribute to these violent incidents. The violent enforcement not only seriously infringed upon the street vendor’s human right and destroyed their legal property, but also triggered massive social discontent that may give rise to protest and social panic to lower the government authority. If we want to deal with this systemic injustice, we need to develop relevant regulations to constrain and punish the officer’s violent behavior. Meanwhile, strictly screening the personnel entering the urban management department was also essential.
Reference:
Ramzy, A., & B. (2009, May 21). Above the Law? China’s Bully Law-Enforcement Officers. Retrieved October 24, 2020, from http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1899773,00.html