China Scene: East

Bootblack busted for playing hardball

A bootblack making hard sells on foreigners was detained for five days for disturbing social order in Shanghai.

Zhou, a 46-year-old migrant worker, who began polishing shoes in February last year, found it hard to eke out a living until he started to play hardball. Zhan has since made more than 2,000 yuan ($290) each month by throwing wax onto the shoes of passing foreigners, forcing the need for a shine upon them.