Across China: Hainan

Cab strike: 3 officials quit

Three transport officials in Sanya resigned on Saturday for dereliction of duty, which partly triggered a five-day taxi strike in the popular tourist city of Hainan province.

A spokesman for the CPC Sanya Municipal Committee said the officials are Chen Zhibang, director of the city's transport bureau, Li Mingde, secretary of the bureau's Party committee, and Yi Zhijun, a deputy bureau director. They were blamed for not having implemented a municipal government policy to reduce the monthly fees cabbies pay to taxi owners from 7,200 yuan ($1,050) to an average of 5,300 yuan from Jan 1. The drivers, however, have been paid back about 87 percent of the extra amount they had paid to the owners.