Dozens of taxi drivers in Sanya, Hainan Province, refused to take customers and rallied for a third day yesterday to press their demands for relief from rising costs and illegal competition, part of unrest that has hit several cities.
The protest comes on the heels of similar action by 9,000 drivers across the country in Chongqing.
A spokesman for the Sanya municipal government, who would give only his surname, Chen, said dozens of cab drivers gathered yesterday outside the city government building. They called for the release of 28 detained drivers suspected of smashing taxis of drivers who refused to participate in the strike, Chen said.
The action comes after more than 300 people protested on Tuesday in front of the government office, Xinhua news agency reported. It said the city has about 1,050 licensed cabs.
“It’s been heard that the drivers will not stop the strike until their requests are met,” said a man from the city’s Chinese Communist Party branch, who would only give his surname, Li.
“The government will solve it as soon as possible,” he said.
The protesting drivers are seeking relief from high monthly taxi rental fees and competition from unlicensed cabs, he said.
Li said Acting Sanya Mayor Wang Yong (王勇) apologized on Tuesday to drivers for the problems in the city’s transportation management.
Wang pledged to crack down on illegal cabs and expressed support for establishing a taxi driver association, another demand of the drivers, Xinhua said.
During a two-day strike in Chongqing, disgruntled taxi drivers smashed more than 100 cabs and three police vehicles, according to state media.
In Yongdeng, a county in Gansu Province, another 160 cab drivers called off a strike after the county government promised to come up with a plan within the next week to get rid of the county’s 700 unlicensed cabs, Xinhua said.
Meanwhile, the firm managing Beijing’s “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium is in hot water for allegedly charging too much money for visits to the iconic venue, Xinhua reported yesterday.
The CITIC Group consortium charges 50 yuan (US$7.30) per ticket with very few discount options, Xinhua said.
“Even the Forbidden City has half-priced tickets for students and the seniors,” a visitor from Beijing surnamed Xiang told Xinhua, brandishing a certificate showing he is over 60 years old.
The only ones who get in free are children less than 1.2m tall, and soldiers injured or handicapped while on active service, Xinhua said.
Despite the price, the Bird’s Nest has proved a hit with tourists, attracting 60,000 visitors on its Oct. 1 opening day, and 20,000 to 30,000 people a day since.
CITIC Group has defended its prices, citing maintenance costs, Xinhua said.
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