For the eighth time in four weeks, more than 300 taxi drivers went on strike in the city Chaozhou, a city in Guangdong province, official reports said.
In their demand against a crackdown on unlicensed taxis, hundreds of cab drivers gathered in front of government buildings in Chaozhou and reportedly smashed cars of other drivers who refused to take part in the strike. The police had detained several persons guilty of the act, officials said.
Media reports said that drivers in Chaozhou were unhappy over the continued granting of licenses to add new taxis in spite of the existence of 800 cabs, already exceeding the demands of the small city.
In a response to the cab drivers' concerns, the government announced a cut of $117 in taxi rental fees starting Monday in Guangzhou and the mayor of Chaozhou has pledged a crackdown on illegal taxis and eradicate them, media reports said.
Media reports said that an increasing number of Chinese workers felt great anxiety over their incomes and job security amid the slowing down of the Chinese economy in the wake of the global financial crisis.
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