City Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau
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The Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau, commonly shortened to ''Chengguan'' (), is a local
government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...
that has been established in every city in
Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...
. The agency is usually part of a city or
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
's Urban Management Bureau (). The agency is in charge with enforcement of urban management of the city. This includes local
bylaw A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authori ...
s, city appearance bylaws,
environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
,
sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...
, work safety,
pollution control Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
, health, and can involve enforcement in planning, greening, industry and commerce,
environment protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair da ...
, municipal affairs and water in large cities. The agents of the bureau are civil servants that do not have the power of the police. The bureau is sometimes translated in English as Urban Administrative Enforcement Bureau or Urban Management Enforcement Bureau.


History

The Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau was established in 2001/2002 for all major cities in mainland China to improve municipal governance as cities become more crowded and urban issues became more complex. The bureaus' officials are responsible for cracking down on unlicensed
street vendor A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with costermonger or peddler. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells inexpensive goods, handicrafts, or food items. Whether stati ...
s. According to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, "Ever since the agency came into existence 10 years ago, there have been repeated criticism of them using excessive force. This para-police force, equipped with steel helmets and stab-proof vests, is often used by local officials as trouble shooters". In general the Chengguan serve as an official agency employed by cities across China "to tackle low-level crime." However, the agency is widely disliked by the Chinese due to their abuses of power.


Criticism

Chengguan have been involved in several high-profile cases that highlighted public discontent towards a perceived abuse of power by Chengguan. One high-profile case involved
Cui Yingjie Cui Yingjie (; born July 15, 1983) is a peasant from Hebei province of China who resided in Beijing as a migrant worker. Cui became the source of national attention in 2006 when he confronted and stabbed an urban law enforcement official to death ...
, who killed a Chengguan in 2006 after a confrontation in Beijing. Public support for Cui Yingjie before and during the trial may have affected the leniency shown to Cui, who received a commuted death sentence. Following an incident in
Tianmen Tianmen () is a sub-prefecture-level city (sometimes considered a county-level city) in central Hubei Province, China. It is on the Jianghan Plain, on the west side of Wuhan (the biggest city of Central China, as well as the capital of Hubei) ...
City,
Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The p ...
province in January 2008 in which the manager of a construction company, Wei Wenhua, was beaten to death for filming the actions of the Chengguan in a local dispute over rubbish dumping, nationwide calls were made to abolish the unit. Thousands of messages were posted over the Internet and protests took place in Hubei province. According to sources, some Chengguan officials have connections to organized crime. A 2012 report by
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...
documents Chengguan abuses, "including assaults on suspected administrative law violators, some of which lead to serious injury or death, illegal detention, and unlawful forceful confiscation of property." There were multiple cases in 2011 and 2012 throughout China where police officers were attacked by groups of chengguan agents when responding to incidents of chengguan's use of violence and abuse. In 2012, the Chengguan agency in Wuhan announced formation of an internal 'militia' or paramilitary-type division. In 2013, a watermelon seller,
Deng Zhengjia Deng Zhengjia () was a Chinese fruit vendor who was killed in a confrontation with urban management officials on 17 July 2013. Deng, 56, was selling watermelons with his wife in Linwu, Hunan Province, when several officials (known as "'' chengguan ...
, was reported to have been beaten to death with his own scales by Chengguan. His body was protected by people on the street to prevent authorities from seizing it and to "preserve evidence." Violence ensued. Prominent microbloggers have called for the end to what has been termed a "thuggish" organization. In 2014, a man filming the Chengguan abusing a female street vendor was brutally beaten with a hammer until he was vomiting blood. He was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital. The five Chengguan officers were severely beaten, and four confirmed dead later, with pictures posted on
Sina Weibo Sina Weibo (新浪微博) is a Chinese microblogging (weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily ac ...
.


In popular culture

As a result of its notorious reputation, the Chengguan has become a popular target of jokes and
internet memes An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
by the Chinese public.
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
magazine reports that beatings by Chengguan officers have become such commonplace news that, "The word 'Chengguan' has even taken on an alternate meaning in Chinese. "Don't be too Chengguan" is an appeal not to bully or terrorize. In other words, "Chengguan" has literally become synonymous with "violence"."The Chengguan is coming!", a phrase often shouted out by illegal
street vendor A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with costermonger or peddler. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells inexpensive goods, handicrafts, or food items. Whether stati ...
s to warn others to run away in case of a Chengguan inspection, has become a famous Chinese Internet punch line. There are also satirical jokes of the Chengguan actually being China's secret strategic reserves, the "fifth branch of the PLA", because of their capability to cause " mass destruction". Punch lines such as "Give me 300 Chengguan, I will conquer..." and "China has pledged not to be the first to use Chengguan at any time or under any circumstances in order to keep world peace and stability" have gone viral among Chinese
netizens The term netizen is a portmanteau of the English words '' internet'' and ''citizen'', as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen". It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general.< ...
in recent years.


Administrative structure

The bureau is usually structured along two offices and six departments. * Administrative Office * Comprehensive Management Department * City Appearance Management Department * Enforcement Management Department * Legal Department * Information Department * Outdoor Advertisement Management Department * Supervision Office


See also

*
Bylaw A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authori ...
*
Bylaw enforcement officer A bylaw enforcement officer (also called municipal law enforcement or municipal enforcement) is an employee of a municipality, county or regional district, charged with the enforcement of local ordinance—bylaws, laws, codes, or regulations ena ...
*
Ministry of Public Security (China) The Ministry of Public Security () is a government ministry of the People's Republic of China responsible for public and political security. It oversees more than 1.9 million of the country's law enforcement officers and as such the vast m ...
*
Law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LE ...
*
Law enforcement in China Law enforcement in China consists of an extensive public security system and a variety of enforcement procedures used to maintain order in the country. Along with the courts and procuratorates, the country's judicial and public security agencie ...


References


External links


Article 16 and Article 17 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Administrative Punishment

Article 17, paragraph 2 and Article 70 of the Administrative Compulsion Law of the People’s Republic of China

Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Administrative Law Enforcement in Urban Management


* ttp://www.asianlii.org/cn/legis/cen/laws/tcslotproc462/ Article 106 of the Civil Servant Law of the People's Republic of China
Procedures of the Administration of Shanghai Municipality Administrative Law Enforcement Certificate

Article 10 and Article 11 of the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Sub-district Offices

English News articles about Chengguan


- TIME magazine
Human Rights Watch report: “Beat Him, Take Everything Away” Abuses by China’s Chengguan Para-Police


- Christian Science Monitor, via YAHOO! News {{authority control Government agencies of China 2001 establishments in China Law enforcement agencies of China Paramilitary organizations based in China Political repression in China Political scandals in China