On September 18th, a business owner in Inner Mongolia posted a video online, tearfully complaining that she had placed a recruitment notice on the glass of her storefront and was informed by urban management personnel that it was a violation. She was asked to bring her ID to accept a fine, or her phone number would be blocked. The incident has attracted attention from the public.
In the video, the woman explained that she had put up a single A4-sized piece of paper with job information at her door, hoping to attract job seekers from the neighborhood. Shortly after, she received a call from a department stating, “What you did has impacted something and violated certain regulations,” demanding her to “bring her ID to their office for punishment.”
“I don’t understand why I have to be fined for putting up just one A4 paper. I really can’t comprehend it,” the woman said. “I just want to know, what exactly did I do wrong? What is the meaning behind your actions?”
She tearfully questioned, “Why do I have to accept punishment? Whom did I impact? I simply pasted a single A4 paper on the glass door of my own house.” However, if she refused to go, she was threatened with having her phone number blocked.
The woman further expressed, “If you had informed me in advance that I couldn’t paste on this glass, I wouldn’t have done it. You didn’t give me any notice.”
According to reports from Netease, the woman is the owner of “Mom’s Here” postpartum meal restaurant in Tianjiao Street, Ulanhot City, Xing’an League, Inner Mongolia.
On September 19th, the video went viral on Weibo’s local trending list. Netizens expressed their opinions, with some saying, “(Urban management) doesn’t do real work, they just eat and get paid.” “What rule is that? Can’t people put up things on their own glass?” “Are they short of money?”
“This urban management unit doesn’t seem to contribute anything to society, they just create conflicts.” “With power, one can really do whatever they want.” “There is a problem with their ideology! Doing absurd things all the time.” “Urban management is like bandits.”
Subsequently, Jiemu News contacted the Urban Management Comprehensive Law Enforcement Bureau in Ulanhot City. The staff responded that their enforcement was based on the “Regulations on the Management of Urban City Appearance and Environmental Sanitation” issued by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. Article 17 of the regulations stipulates that “no unit or individual may write or carve on urban buildings, facilities, and trees.”
The staff also mentioned that, in response to the needs of residents, the city has produced uniform stickers. If citizens have requirements, they can go to local copy shops for printing, which may cost two to three yuan more than A4 paper.
Later, the Ulanhot City’s Urban Management Comprehensive Law Enforcement Bureau issued a notice stating that due to inadequate explanation, misunderstanding had occurred. In the afternoon of the same day, they explained the relevant regulations to the woman and decided not to impose a fine.
In response to the official statement, some netizens questioned, “Oh? Such a misunderstanding.” “What nonsense rule is that? Thinking they can do whatever they want just because of a rule!” “This gradual loss of human nature is perplexing.” “Really wondering, how did these people get into these administrative positions?”
“The beauty of a city should first be built on the foundation of a better life for the people, not reverse the order of importance. I hope this concept can be deeply rooted in everyone’s hearts, becoming the purpose, soul, and basis of law enforcement, and a fundamental criterion for assessing the correctness of law enforcement. Urban management should first and foremost serve the people, not extinguish the lights in every household.”