''Chengguan'' (, short for zh, c=城市管理执法, l='Urban Management and Law Enforcement', labels=no) is an administrative practice of city-level local governments in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

to oversee and manage city appearance and public environments according to the region's bylaws. Chengguan are non-sworn civil agencies and are not entitled police powers. Numerous incidents have occurred over the years involving Chengguan seriously wounding innocents and even beating people to death in public.

Duties

Although varied by region, the responsibilities of Chengguan are usually to maintain urban management order, sanitary environment and city appearance, and carry out urban management by law enforcement, environmental protection supervision and other work, according to government sources. According to an order from the

Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development is a ministry of the People's Republic of China which provides housing and regulates the state construction activities in mainland China. History It was formerly known as the Ministry of Co ...

in 2017, the scope of administrative penalties for urban management enforcement has been strictly limited to those specified in the laws, regulations, and rules related to the housing and urban-rural construction sector, as well as the administrative penalties related to environmental protection management, business administration, traffic management, water affairs management, and areas of food and drug supervision that pertain to urban management.

Criticism

Chengguan are responsible for cracking down on unlicensed

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s. According to the

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, "Ever since the agency came into existence 10 years ago, there have been repeated criticism of them using excessive force. This ''de facto'' para-police bureau, equipped with steel helmets and stab-proof vests, is often used by local officials as trouble shooters". Chengguan often also clash with standard police who respond to Chengguan brutality reports. In general the Chengguan serve as a civil agency employed by cities across China "to tackle low-level illegal behaviors". The public widely dislike the Chengguan due to their abuses of power, as highlighted in their involvement in several high-profile cases. A 2012 report by

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

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".

Incidents

In 2008, nationwide calls to abolish the unit followed the death of Wei Wenhua, the manager of a construction company who was beaten to death 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) a ...

City,

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

province in January 2008 for filming the actions of the Chengguan in a local dispute over rubbish dumping. On November 3, 2011, while responding to a call of Chengguan agents committing acts of abuse,

Suiping County Suiping County () is a county in the south of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of Zhumadian City. It is claimed to be the origin county of the surname Fang ( 房). During the Western Zhou it was the seat of the Fang State. T ...

Public Security Bureau police officer after which he was kidnapped by the Chengguan agents and brought to the local police station for "Negotiations". 16 Chengguan were arrested with 3 being charged with assault of a government employee. 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. On July 23, 2013,

Xining Xining is the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. As of the 2020 census, it had 2,467,965 inhabitants (2,208,708 as of 2010), of whom 1,954,795 l ...

Municipal PSB Chengbei Division police officer Ren Jie, probationary officer Zhou Jiacai and a third probationary officer who responded to an emergency call reporting Chengguan brutality were beat up by 30 Chengguan agents and demolition workers, with Ren's

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and

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being stolen by the attackers. In April 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

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. On April 8, 2018, in

Shangqiu Shangqiu ( zh, ), Postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shangkiu, is a city in eastern Henan province, Central China. It borders Kaifeng to the northwest, Zhoukou to the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Anhui to the northeast ...

, 8 Public Security Bureau officers were injured in clashes with 100 Chengguan who were attempting to remove people from their place of residence which was located in an area that was slated for redevelopment. The incident involved Chengguan who were caught on camera throwing stones at people's homes and required the deployment of tear gas by the local SWAT detachment. A subsequent investigation resulted in the arrest of 3 Chengguan agents.

In popular culture

As a result of its notorious reputation, the Chengguan has become a popular target of jokes and

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magazine reported that beatings by Chengguan employees have become such commonplace news that "'Chengguan' has even taken on an alternate meaning in Chinese. 'Don't be too Chengguan' is an appeal not to bully or terrorize". "The Chengguan is coming!", a phrase often shouted out by illegal

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

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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.

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

References