China: Violent BBQ crackdown backfires · Global Voices
John Kennedy

A city on a hill, south-central China's Chongqing municipality seems to stand above many other places in the the country when it comes to using affordable technology to document things like crime and clashes, and getting it on the internet.
On the evening of September 4, a squadron of urban and economic law enforcers there attacked a man selling barbecued meats on the side of one street and one bystander put the photos she took of subsequent public backlash and torching of the authorities’ work vehicle up on one of China's largest internet forums. That post, it seems, was deleted, but not before another Chongqing resident and brief witness to the mass incident reposted the reporting—notice the timestamps—onto a smaller forum website. Except where noted, the words below come from the photographer herself:
昨天11点多晚上回家，我目睹了下面的情形，当时我没下车观看，出租车被警察档着，我远远的看了一会，那一刻我只遗憾我的手机像素太低，但凭我的职业经历判断，不是车辆自燃，车辆自燃车不会侧翻，也不是恐怖袭击，恐怖分子会选择人多热闹的的时候作案，我判断可能是一起刑事案件，但是今天早上我仔细看报纸，发现没有相关报道，于是我意识到，这不是一起普通案件，打开天涯重庆版，果然，就看到了以下的帖子和图片！
[转帖]『重庆』 9月4日石桥铺暴动（有照片和视频。。。）
9月4日晚石桥铺科园三街路口暴动，城管蓄意殴打小摊贩，引起群众不满后更连市民一起暴打，事件上升至焚烧城管汽车，上千市民围观。暴力与冲突不断恶化升级。
也不晓得着删不？不管了，传了再说。。。
想看视频，楼主快发～
事情大概就是：
石桥铺科园三街入口处，有一家摆烧烤的小摊。晚上大概7点左右，城管带了黑多人，把人家摊摊全部砸了，好象是蓄意的。于是有些过路的人看不下去了，就说了几句，结果城管些连同过路的群众一起暴打，结果激起民愤，不断有群众围观，导致石桥铺到陈家坪交通一度中断。
。。。
后来110来了，天天630来了，110的要带别个烤烧烤的人走，群众肯定不干塞，城管打了人想跑，群众肯定不依塞，于是警察和群众僵持发生冲突，警察又打人，结果事件进一步恶化，暴力不断升级。。这时围观群众已千多2千人，导致交通完全中断。
到11点左右，城管想开车走，被老百姓围起走不掉，下车后，也不晓得哪个点燃了城管的车，于是一声爆炸后，现场一片混乱，极度失控
。。。
At the entrance to the Shiqiiaopu Science and Technology Park there is a small barbecue vendor stall. At around seven pm, the Urban Administration showed up with a bunch of people and began completely smashing the barbecue stall, as though this were premeditated. Then some by-passers couldn't stand to see this, so they said a few words, the result of which was that the Urban Administrators began fighting violently with the crowd of by-passers, inflaming the public's fury. Crowds of people kept stopping to watch, resulting in traffic being cut off all the way from Shiqiaopu to Chenjiaping.
…
Then the police showed up, and the local daily news TT630 showed up, and the police wanted to take the barbecue roaster away, the crowd wasn't about to try stop them. But then after the Urban Administration (UA) beat the guy, they wanted to run off, and the crowd wasn't about to let that happen, which led to a deadlock between the police and the crowd, which turned into a clash. The police began hitting people, and the incident then got even worse, with violence continuing to escalate…at this time there were about more than two thousand people crowded around, cutting off all traffic.
At around eleven, the UA tried to drive off, and were then surrounded by the masses, stopped from leaving. After they got out of the van, I don't know who it was who lit the UA van on fire, but with a bang it exploded and the scene turned to chaos and spun highly out of control
…
作者：巫巫格大人  回复日期：2007-9-5 03:05:00
没有拍到城管打人的照片。。。
这个确实可惜了，不然让全中国的老百姓看看城管究竟是法制的执法者还是凶狠的土匪
主要是：当时晓得是城管在砸别人小摊，对于这个，我相信重庆人早就已经见怪不怪了，当时也没觉得事情会不断升级扩大，城管不仅砸人饭碗，还连人一块端。。。。不让人吃饭，更不让人活命。。。
从晚上7点多一直到凌晨12点，上面那些当官的才姗姗来迟，确实不晓得他们干啥子切鸟。。。如果有一点点的预见性，有一点点的公正公平，有一点点对事情正确的处理和对待。。。我想也不至于让警察和群众针锋相对暴力相向。。。也不会让这个老百姓早已司空见惯的事情升级为焚车中断交通要道。。。激起千人愤慨。。。
我是在11点听到外面砰的一声时，以为是警察鸣枪示警了也，才拿出相机，结果外面一片火光、烟雾和混乱的人群。。。已经看不见哪个是警察，哪个是老百姓了。。。
From just after seven straight until midnight, the “upstairs” officials took their sweet time getting there, I really don't know what good they thought dawdling around would do…if they had any foresight at all, even just the least bit sense of justice, an inkling of the correct way to handle and deal with things…I think it's unlikely that they'd have let the police and the crowd face off and get violent with each other…nor would they have let things escalate from what this citizen has seen time and time again into the torching of a car and the blocking of traffic…or the infuriation of over a thousand people…
It was around eleven when I heard the first bang, and I thought the police had fired a warning shot, so I took out my camera; but then a flame shot out, then smoke, and the crowd went chaotic…you couldn't see anymore who was a cop and who was a civilian…
不一会儿，消防车来了。。。防暴队来了。。。封锁了马路中间。。。
图片点击可在新窗口打开查看
这个是最边边上的人。。。
都等着看官官些浪个办啊浪个办
这个时候。。。从照片日期看。。。已经凌晨过了
By this time…you can see from the date in the picture…it was already early morning
作者：巫巫格大人  回复日期：2007-9-5 03:15:00
消防车。。。。呜拉。。呜拉。。。
作者：巫巫格大人  回复日期：2007-9-5 03:18:00
被焚烧的城管的车车。。。终于熄火了，，，
只是曾经开得飞XX神气活现耀武扬威的车车。。。变成了如今一堆散发着恶臭的废铁
One reader asks:
作者：左正  回复日期：2007-9-5 03:18:00
还在继续没得？
作者：巫巫格大人  回复日期：2007-9-5 03:21:00
马路2边的人行道~~~~~全是人啊全是人~~~全是和那位被殴打被砸掉饭碗的烧烤主 一样的~~~~劳动人~~~普通老百姓~~~普通市民~~~
作者：巫巫格大人  回复日期：2007-9-5 03:23:00
汽车。。。。
是哪个把你变成一堆废铁？？？？
真的是在场的广大老百姓？？？
作者：巫巫格大人  回复日期：2007-9-5 03:28:00
火熄灭鸟~~~~~防暴队开始打算驱散人群。。。
带白帽子的斗室防暴队的~~~当时太混乱~~~照花了~~~
One reader writes:
作者：005TZ醉七少  回复日期：2007-9-5 03:43:00
六四之后不谈政治,这就是中国所谓的民主!!!!
作者：巫巫格大人  回复日期：2007-9-5 03:55:00
天涯可以发视频不哦？？
作者：巫巫格大人  回复日期：2007-9-5 03:58:00
手机照的。。不是黑清楚~~~
车爆炸哒
The van exploding
作者：巫巫格大人  回复日期：2007-9-5 04:04:00
那些白点点~~~全部都是防暴队的~~~
手机照的~~~数码没电了。。。
作者：巫巫格大人  回复日期：2007-9-5 04:09:00
市民还在围观~~~都没打算离开~~~
A reader writes:
作者：坏喜鹊啊  回复日期：2007-9-5 04:15:00
这是我去深圳出差时拍到深圳城管欺负一个卖红苕的照片，一群走狗
作者：巫巫格大人  回复日期：2007-9-5 04:27:00
当时在现场~~~~我旁边有个大妈在说~~天天630来了的~~~明天看电视~~看看放出来~~其他人怎么说~~~
呵呵~~~那让我们大家拭目以待嘛~~~看明天630播不播嘛~~~
天天630在11点前~~~便离开了~~~那个时候~~现场冲突恶化才刚刚开始~~~
没照到630那标志性的车车~~~他们跑得太快鸟~~~
那就让我们这些不是记者的小市民先让大家看到今晚所发生的事情吧~~~
远处那些白色的小点点~~~全部都是防暴队的~~~
照得不清楚~~~将就看~~~毕竟我也不是专业摄影~~~只是想让重庆人都知道自己身边到底都再发生什么事情~~~只是对那家靠自己双手吃饭不偷不抢的烧烤主~~~感到惋惜和同情~~~
如果哪天~~~我们也遭遇被人野蛮无理粗暴砸掉饭碗~~会是怎样的心情呢？？
Hehe…we'll all have to just wait and see then…see if they report on it tomorrow at 6:30
By 11:30…TT6:30 had already been made to leave…at that time…the worsening of the conflict had just begun…
I didn't get a shot of the TT630 car….they left too quickly…
So then it's just up to us non-journalist little citizens to show everyone the things that happened this evening…
Those white dots in the distance…they're all the riot squad…
My pictures aren't clear…you'll just have to deal with it…then again, I'm not a professional photographer…I just want to let Chongqingers all know what exactly has happened this time…I just feel sorry and sympathetic…to that BBQer who makes his money honestly, doesn't steal and doesn't rob…
If, one day…we ourselves see our “rice bowls” barbarically, senselessly and cruelly smashed by someone…how will we feel?