Why is there a career of urban management in China?

I listened to a school-based course in the School of Foreign Languages affiliated to Guangdong University of Foreign Studies the day before yesterday. The course is taught by Professor Wang Qiang, and the topic is "Investigation and Research on Urban Management in China". Teacher Wang collected a lot of information about urban management in China, especially the information about urban management in Guangzhou, so that students could read and analyze it, and then put forward their own opinions. The class was wonderful, which broadened students' horizons and taught them how to analyze problems. I think this topic selection and teaching are very good.

The only regret is that there is only information from China, and there is no foreign information. Therefore, talking about it is only in a small circle. Nothing more than: urban management law enforcement is difficult, urban management law enforcement is rude, urban management is misunderstood too much, and urban management work is difficult to do. Urban management is hated. There are many written materials that sympathize with urban management, but less sympathy for street vendors. The best suggestion is that China should reconsider enacting an urban management law, so that the jurisdiction of urban management is relatively fixed, instead of expanding the scope of authority without limits.

In fact, the question about urban management is not how to enforce the law. The first question is how the urban management in China came into being. Why is there a law enforcement agency like Urban Management in China? I have been to many countries in recent years. I am particularly concerned about whether there are Chinese urban management occupations on the streets of various countries. As a result, I didn't find such a job in Japan or America. Why don't they need urban management, but China needs this kind of law enforcement agency? In fact, there is no law enforcement agency such as urban management in the central government. Compared with other institutions, generally speaking, institutions established in local areas will basically have corresponding institutions at the central level, and then they can be managed accordingly. Urban management is only available in local areas, and it is only set up in cities, and even provincial governments do not set up this institution. Relevant information shows that China's urban management began to appear in some cities in the south in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In other words, the urban management profession appeared in China for only twenty or thirty years. Obviously, there was no urban management in the planned economy era in China. Because it was illegal to buy on the street at that time, it was the tail of capitalism. In the traditional agricultural era, there was no urban management, because at that time, the city was underdeveloped, and although there were small vendors, as long as there were vacant lots on the street, they could sell them, no problem. You just met the government and the underworld and collected taxes or protection fees. In the 1980s, China began to reform and open to the outside world, and the commodity economy began to flourish. More people began to peddle in the streets, especially a large number of farmers went to cities, and a large number of cities were laid off and could not find their own jobs. This kind of business was almost their first choice. There are more people selling, and the city streets are almost a mess. At this time, there is no special law enforcement department to manage, then the city will become a garbage dump. Therefore, the emergence of urban management in China also has a realistic basis and related social background.

Urban management should enforce the law and vendors should survive. Therefore, the long-term tug-of-war between urban management and hawkers, long-term guerrilla warfare, you come and I go, you go and I come. Get rid of a batch and come back. Over and over again, never ending. This problem has been puzzling the cities of China. I have not seen this phenomenon in many countries. Why?

I analyze this phenomenon, which is mainly a deformed monster caused by China's characteristic commodity economy. First of all, the land in China is owned by the government. By monopolizing the special resource of land, the government has absolute control over the market. As a result, the house prices are sky-high and those vendors have little capital. If they want to do some small business and rent shops, they lack funds and the cost is too high. Coupled with tax collection, small enterprises run by small enterprises basically have no money to earn. Setting up a stall is basically to save money for opening a shop. At the same time, because it is a temporary booth, there is no need to apply for license registration, and there is no problem of paying industrial and commercial administrative taxes and fees. This is an important reason why those vendors choose to be "ghosts" and "mobile vendors" first.

Why do you rarely see such mobile vendors in the United States and Japan? There is a simple reason. Basically, Japanese people have other jobs, and small businesses traded on the street are basically solved by Japanese people through vending machines. Even if someone wants to do business and rent a store or something, the pressure is not particularly great. In America, we have seen many such street stalls, especially some tourist attractions. The food in the stall is not only allowed to eat, but also the business is particularly good. I just don't see a chengguan. If there are illegal acts, the police will enforce the law uniformly. Mobile vendors in the United States need to register, that is, have a business license. Second, you need to make bills through computer receipts, and then deduct taxes according to the bills. Third, their booths seem to be relatively fixed. Basically, it is sold in a designated place every day. You can't just sell it. Land in America is privately owned. Your booth should not be placed on other people's land at will, nor should it occupy public corridors. If it is exceeded, the police will take care of it. But the police should pay attention, you will not use force casually, but collect evidence, take photos, issue tickets, and then there will be no police. You got a ticket from the police, so you must pay the fine obediently. Because if you don't pay the fine, the judge of the court will give you a subpoena. See you in court then. The United States is a country ruled by law, and everything must have a legal basis. When the judge's gavel strikes, it seems to be the voice of God, which is inviolable. It is precisely because the United States has such legal authority and law enforcement procedures that everyone must abide by it and can only abide by it. There is no need to set up a law enforcement agency like the urban management. This is just like the United States does not need to set up a commission for discipline inspection or a bureau of corruption prevention. Urban management, a law enforcement department, simply can't tell what law enforcement this is. Say it's a policeman, but it's not. It's just doing police things sometimes. China is a human society and an official-oriented society. If you have connections, privileges and backgrounds, you can also get rid of illegal things. Otherwise, it is legal, and it is not allowed. It is inevitable to take bribes and take bribes. Therefore, democratic constitutionalism and building a society ruled by law are the development directions of China society. To embark on a society ruled by law, China people need to thoroughly reflect on their traditional culture, especially the Confucian cultural tradition. China, Taiwan Province Province, South Korea, Japan and other countries and regions used to be Confucian cultural circles. However, after a hundred years of re-baptism, they have been thoroughly remoulded. Over the past century, they have been deeply influenced by the culture of democracy and the rule of law, and have long since completely divorced from the culture of self-cultivation, keeping the family in order, governing the country and leveling the world in Confucian politics. If we ignore this fact and still insist that these countries and regions are the fruits of Confucian culture, we will never get out of the cultural misunderstanding.

Reprinted in: Xu Xiliang, why is there a career of urban management in China? 》