Migrant clashes rise in Shanghai
Shanghai has reported a drastic rise in the number of violent clashes involving migrant workers, mirroring a national trend and prompting calls for government action.
During the first half of the year, the number of cases in the city more than doubled to 27, according to Wen Hui Pao.
Leading sociologist Hu Xingdou said the growth, in line with the trend across cities frequented by migrant workers, reflected a growing unease among the group in the lowest stratum of the urban population. He called on the government to address the matter.
'It is very easy for violence to erupt among the proletariat,' he said.
'They are at the bottom of the social ladder and are often discriminated against by other city dwellers. This creates feeling of hatred against society on their part and a tendency to express such feelings through violent means.'
Professor Hu said the government should adjust its social welfare system to improve the living standards of migrant workers and boost their self-esteem.
A spokesman for a Shanghai municipal people's procuratorate said the number of cases grew 237.5 per cent compared with the same period last year.
Almost all of the assault cases involving migrants featured gangs from the same native village or area seeking to protect their common interests.
'Violence erupted suddenly in most of the cases, driven by disputes about gambling, personal interests, differences in living habits or even [misunderstandings] created by language barriers,' the spokesman said, adding that most of the crimes happened in the city's suburbs.
One of the cases highlighted involved a worker from Guangxi province , Hu Yuefa , who stabbed colleagues whom he suspected had stolen his mobile phone in March. The incident triggered a brawl which left two dead and three injured.
Violence involving or directed towards migrant workers has become a nationwide phenomenon. In April, one Zhejiang migrant worker was killed by a property security guard for picking a 10-fen coin off a floor in Shenyang , Liaoning province .
