Zhengzhou residents irate over newsstand ban

Download

Qi Xin, an employee at an English training company in Zhengzhou, capital of Central China's Henan province, can no longer find anyplace that sells her favorite magazine, Youth Digest.

"I bought every issue of this magazine, but now I can't find a place to buy it," the 26-year-old said.

Qi is one of millions of Zhengzhou residents who is getting behind in their reading because city authorities decided to pull down all newsstands.

The last newsstand, at the intersection of Chengshi Huayuan Road and Hongqi Street, was torn down on April 2.

In April 2017, the Zhengzhou government decided to pull down the city's 421 newsstands.

Zhengzhou's urban management bureau, which was in charge of the initiative, claimed at the time that all newsstands were illegal constructions.

Beijing News reported in 2017 that no Zhengzhou newsstand had a license.

It also reported that in 2004, a total of 341 stands were licensed.

"Hearings were not needed for cracking down on illegal constructions," said Han Yongjin, vice-director of the bureau. "Some newsstands extend to the street, occupy public spaces, sell refreshments, and hang posts. All affect urban planning, and should be cracked down," a government notice by the bureau said.

An alternative offered by the government was to move newspaper stands to supermarkets.

However, Qi doesn't like the alternative. "It is so inconvenient for me. I could get change at the stands before, but now I have to walk miles to find a supermarket," she said.

Authorities also claimed that some booths secretly sold pornography magazines.

Fan Yaobang, retired vice-chief planner of the Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning and Design, believes the newsstands could be saved if planned well.

"The booths are convenient for residents. They can grab a newspaper when lining up for a bus, or during a walk after dinner," Fan said, adding that the booths can provide jobs.

"However, it is not OK to put them in the middle of the street, which may cause accidents or increase potential danger risks," he added.

Internet users said the closures will affect the local newspaper and magazine businesses.

However, Nie Guangpeng, director of the circulation department at Henan Daily, said no circulation declines have been noted since the crackdown.

A Zhengzhou resident who gave only his online name, Shan Niufu, has been taking photos of newsstands since the crackdown began.

Officials in some other provincial capitals are also bothered by newsstands. Authorities in Changchun, in Jilin province, and Yinchuan, in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, announced plans in 2011 and 2017 to do something about them.

However, no other provincial capital has banned the stands so far.

Liu Dongwei, chief acting architect at the China Institute of Building Standard Design and Research, said that no other city has banned newspaper booths in China or abroad.

Questions:

1. What city is cracking down on newsstands?

2. How many were in the city?

3. When were they torn down?

Answers:

1. Zhengzhou, capital of Central China's Henan province.

2. 421.

3. The last newsstand was torn down on April 2.

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.