Economy

Official forced out after forcing businesses out

By Wang Huazhong (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-19 15:55

BEIJING - A township official in Southwest China was suspended from his post in response to allegations that he had forced businesses to leave a commercial street.

Yuan Rentao, deputy mayor of Maotai township, in Southwest China's Guizhou province, stands accused of putting out a notice on May 1 ordering all businesses except liquor stores on the popular Huanmaonan Street to move elsewhere, according to China Central Television (CCTV).

CCTV reported that the businesses were given two days to leave, promised no compensation and offered no help in re-establishing themselves.

The order was given as a preliminary step in the local government's plan to turn Huanmaonan into a special street promoting the "culture of liquor". Maotai township is home to a factory producing a famous "national liquor", which is named Moutai.

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Of the local businessmen affected by the township's notice, several complained that they were not even being given time "to sell off our stocks" before they had to move.

On May 3, workers with the township's urban management, public security and commerce departments started to raid businesses that had remained on the street in violation of the order, the report said. Disobedient establishments saw authorities tear down their advertisement boards and confiscate their goods, local businessmen told CCTV.

On May 9, CCTV reporters saw a group of police and business administrators threaten a grocery shop on Huanmaonan Street. At the group's head was Yuan.

According to a recording of the event, he then said the team would "take away whoever was trying to illegally interfere" with the relocation. He threatened the owner of a corner shop by saying, "You shouldn't interfere with law enforcement. If you do, the cost of delaying this plan will fall on you".

After CCTV reported the words on Sunday, Yuan became a target of public anger and the media criticism.

The government of Renhuai city, which administers the township, said on its website on Tuesday that Yuan has been suspended for "rudeness and breaches of discipline".

In an online announcement, the Renhuai city government also asked township authorities to return the goods they had in their custody and to compensate the affected businesses for losses.

The announcement also encouraged township officials to issue an apology and to listen to the opinions of local businessmen.

The plan to make Huanmaonan into a special street has meanwhile been sent back to the drawing board. Any future such plan will have to take into account public opinions.

Zhou Aozhuang, a resident in Maotai, told China Daily on Wednesday that he had seen authorities returning confiscated goods to businessmen the day before.

"I perfectly understand that Yuan was acting with the best of intentions and trying to develop the town, but his methods were wrong," the 27-year-old said.

"Liquor is the one thing that our township's entire economy relies on. A theme street would certainly benefit us and present a tidier image to tourists."