''Chen Xitong is our saviour,'' exclaimed a middle-aged resident of Temple of the Moon North Street as she explained how the great leader had rid her quiet residential district of a pestilence that had been threatening the community's children and old folk.

The pestilence was a long line of metal-framed stalls erected by the street committee to form the basis of a new street market. The stalls had blocked a section of pavement on one side of the road, forcing children and the elderly to dodge speeding cars,trucks and bicycles.

But it was not just that inconvenience that had infuriated the residents; it was that the street committee had erected the stalls without consulting them first.

The residents saw it as a blatant attempt by the street committee to make money at their expense.

So on the evening of May 16, more than 100 residents and passers-by rampaged along the tree-lined street, systematically destroying the stalls.

In all, 18 of the 37 stalls were knocked to the ground. But while this may have greatly satisfied the residents, it did not end the problem.

The twisted metal wreckage and broken paving slabs left after the night of destruction still forced passers-by on to the road. To get the mess cleared, the residents petitioned the Beijing municipal government to force the street committee to abandon itsmoney-making venture.

To many people's surprise, within a few weeks of the petition being presented, Mr Chen turned up at Temple of the Moon North Street to investigate the problem.

After surveying the scene for a few minutes and talking to a few residents about their grievances, Mr Chen told a huge crowd that had gathered that the market stalls would have to go.

The street committee was given one week to clear the mess. Despite having invested hundreds of thousands of yuan in the scheme, they did just that.

Temple of the Moon North Street has now reverted to its former sleepy self.

''Just goes to show you can't mess with the common people,'' said one resident with a huge grin.

But Mr Chen's intervention in the incident probably had more to do with political expediency than people power.

The incident had received considerable publicity in the Beijing newspapers and had come to symbolise all that was wrong with local government: officials out of touch with the people and concerned only with making money.

The destruction of May 16 was also a chilling reminder of the kind of social unrest which culminated in the mass demonstrations of May 1989. The party boss had to act, and fast, to prevent any more disturbances.

As the party boss of China's capital city, Mr Chen's primary concern is to ensure social stability and he knows full well that if he makes a mess of it a second time, he will be out of a job.