Chongqing taxi drivers strike over fines, gas shortages

Hundreds of angry taxi drivers went on strike and smashed vehicles in China's fourth-largest city Monday in a rare public protest, state media reported.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the cab drivers in Chongqing in southwestern China were protesting shortages of fuel, competition from unlicensed cabs and high fines for traffic violations.

It said protesters gathered on a business street and smashed 20 vehicles, including three police cars, and pulled cab drivers who refused to join the protest and their passengers out of their cars.

Chongqing is a hilly city with about 9,000 cab drivers.

Police cars patrolled the streets after the morning violence, Xinhua said. There were no reports of injuries.

A spokesman for the Chongqing police bureau, who declined to give his name as is common with Chinese officials, confirmed the violence but refused to give further details. He said the situation was now "under control."

Xinhua said officials met several times to discuss the problem and issued a series of measures to deal with the drivers' complaints. It said 800 cab drivers had returned to work by Monday afternoon.