According to reports on the evening of August 19, a violent incident occurred at the Rule of Law Cultural Square in Shuangliu District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, where urban management officers were seen assaulting street vendors, and police were also on-site making arrests. The misconduct of the urban management officers and police sparked protests from thousands of people. During the chaos, a handcuffed vendor climbed onto the roof of a vehicle and called for unity among the crowd.
Multiple videos circulating online depict a person lying on the ground while being fanned by two or three individuals. The uploader of the video identified the person on the ground as a “street vendor who was beaten down by urban management officers.”
In other footage, a man with his left hand handcuffed was seen standing on top of a vehicle, waving his arms while addressing a large crowd. Nearby, a substantial number of people had gathered, with a significant police presence forming a barrier between the vehicle and the crowd. The video uploader mentioned that the vendor was urging the crowd to unite and seek justice.
Reportedly, the videos were recorded around 9 pm on August 19.
A blogger known for closely following collective rights events in China, “Yesterday (@YesterdayBigcat),” also shared related videos on social platform X, stating that on August 19, Chengdu urban management officers and the police had oppressed the vendors, leading to protests from thousands of citizens.
As per “Yesterday’s” account, on Monday (the 19th), thousands of citizens in Chengdu took to the streets to show support for the oppressed vendors and to protest against the abuse of power by the police and urban management officers.
Several eyewitnesses claimed that around 5 pm that day, at the intersection of Chuan Da Road Section 2 in Xihangang Street, Shuangliu District, Chengdu, when urban management officers were trying to clear the vendors, they injured one vendor and called the police to handcuff and detain another.
The actions of the urban management officers and police stirred discontent among passing citizens. They surrounded the urban management vehicle trying to leave the scene, demanding that the injured vendor be taken to the hospital for treatment and that the police release the arrested vendor. However, the urban management officer who committed the assault had no intention of getting medical help for the injured vendor, and the police were reluctant to release the detained vendor and attempted to leave in the confusion.
This led to more and more people joining the protest, with the number of participants reaching over a thousand.
Under pressure from the protesters, the police eventually released the detained vendor. Afterwards, the released vendor climbed onto the roof of a police car, waving his handcuffed arm in protest against the misconduct of the urban management officers.
The vendor’s actions elicited cheers from the crowd, and the demonstration continued until around 10 pm, when the police finally took the injured vendor to the hospital for treatment, gradually dispersing the gathered citizens.