Chinese taxi drivers unleash fury against illegal copycat

CHANGSHA - Taxi drivers in central China vented their fury against those that encroach their business by overturning an illegal taxi on Wednesday and smashing its windows.

In central Chinese city Yueyang in Hunan province on Wednesday morning, an illegal taxi was chased by four legitimate taxis and rear-ended by another, local police said.

The taxi drivers then rallied more than 30 people around the copycat, smashing its windows and overturning the vehicle.

Police intervened and took everyone involved in for questioning.

Such copycats, or illegal taxis, are common in China's large cities where existing services fail to meet demand. However, such furious outbursts are rare. More commonly legitimate taxi drivers are harassed by unruly illegal drivers.

Tension between the city's taxi drivers and illegal taxis have reached boiling point. Many unlicensed taxis have encroached on legitimate taxi business at train station and this has drawn the ire of the drivers.

The rise of Internet-based ride-on-demand services offered by domestic firm Didi Kuaidi and US firm Uber have also disrupted China's taxi service, as more people are choosing to take private rides with more efficient and comfortable services than traditional taxis.