Mediation underway to end strike by cabbies

Traffic, police and labor departments in Shaoguan, Guangdong province, are busy mediating in a strike by taxi drivers objecting to a proposed increase in their monthly contract fees.

Tang Mingqiang, deputy director of the Shaoguan Bureau of Communications, said the departments and the taxi companies are studying drivers' demands in an attempt to heal the rift.

"Drivers should end the strike and resume work first because the strike has tarnished the city's image," Tang said at a news conference in Shaoguan on Wednesday.