On the evening of July 5th, a large-scale protest erupted in Longgang District, Buji Street, Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, China. Hundreds of street vendors blocked the road to protest against the violent law enforcement by urban management officers, with thousands of onlookers gathering at the scene. The standoff continued until the early hours of the next day.
According to news from an overseas social media platform, a collective protest broke out near Victory Bay in Buji Street, Longgang District, Shenzhen. Several witnesses reported that multiple female street vendors were forcibly driven away by urban management officers that night, being pushed and beaten with batons. Injured vendors lay on the ground in protest.
The incident sparked anger among surrounding street vendors and their relatives, who quickly gathered in support, leading to hours-long protest activities that paralyzed traffic, with over a thousand citizens watching. Verbal and physical conflicts between the vendors and urban management officers occurred multiple times, lasting until 2 a.m. the following day. Eventually, both parties went to government offices for negotiation, and the onlookers dispersed gradually.
Local residents revealed that the incident stemmed from issues related to “protection fees.” A resident of Buji Street told a reporter, “The cause of the event is that if street vendors do not pay protection fees, they are not allowed to set up stalls. The enforcement team of Buji Street’s urban management has collected these fees, and now the government does not allow them to set up stalls, so they are seeking justice.”
Another on-site resident told reporters, “Someone above the urban management assigned tasks, and the vendors are also trying to make a living. The actions of the urban management are too extreme and have sparked public outrage. Many urban management officers are abusing their power.”
Due to prolonged economic downturn and a significant increase in unemployment rates, a large number of people who have lost their jobs are forced to choose street vending as a means of making a living. However, in recent years, incidents of violent forced eviction of street vendors by urban management have been frequent across China.
Previously, urban management in Shenzhen had clashed with local vendors several times. On the night of May 9th this year, in Yuemin Road, Henggang Street, Longgang District, Shenzhen, a vendor lay down in front of his three-wheeler to prevent the urban management from towing his vehicle away, leading to a gathering of vendors in protest.
On May 16th, a female stall owner in Shenzhen was confronted by several urban management officers. Besides standing in front of her stall to disrupt her business, one officer even kicked away her folding chair, provoking a gathering of citizens.