Profiles

Shanghai gives green light to street vendors

By Kang Yi (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-03-02 15:23

Street vendors now could feel at ease to cry their wares on the hustle and bustle avenues in Shanghai as the municipality has recently given them the green light, reported the Beijing News Friday.

A street vendor sells souvenir pigs in Dalian, northeast China Liaoning province January 20, 2007. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, 2007 is the year of the pig. [Reuters]

Street vendor has not been regarded as a legitimate profession in China for decades, and authorities of many big cities slap a ban on it for fear that hawkers roaming around downtown areas may damage the image of metropolitan.

The ban has come under heavy criticism that it deprives the street vendors of their right to make a living.

"Local authorities should not sacrifice employment opportunities for their face projects," Zheng Gongcheng, deputy to the National People's Congress told the media.

According to a report by Xinhua News agency, there are more than 50,000 street stalls without pitch licenses in Shanghai, and those stalls are supporting tens of thousands of families there.

The Constitution endows the people with the right to work, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ratified by the Chinese government reiterates the right to work, which includes the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts.

A new law to promote employment is under discussion, which will solicit opinion on street vendor's right protection.