Local government reiterated yesterday that it will continue to take action against commercial fraud on Zhongying (Sino-English) Street until the market becomes ordered and fair.

"Operators who fail to do business abiding by the law can't survive," Zhao Shikuan, deputy director of the Comprehensive Management Office of Yantian District, said yesterday.

The office, which co-ordinates multiple departments in anti-fraud actions, held a press briefing in response to media inquires on the closure of 90 per cent of shopping outlets on the Shenzhen side of Zhongying Street.

The street was co-governed by China and Britain before Hong Kong's return to the motherland in 1997, and is now under joint management by the governments of Shenzhen and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Zhao said the district government dealt a heavy blow to regulate the practices of the operators on the north side of the street, after several complaints were received since January in which tourists said they were cheated and even threatened by operators.

Since the end of March, several government agencies including the tourism department, the industrial and commercial management department, customs and police have strengthened efforts to crack down on illegal activities on the street, Zhao said.

Law enforcement teams confiscated fake products and punished the operators, and every complaint made by tourists was investigated, he said.

Five illegal guides who played a major role in cheating the customers were taken into custody yesterday. A batch of fake luxury watches and leather products and more than 300 fake brand-name suits were seized, according to the district government.

Zhao said the closure of the street's shopping outlets, which started in January, is partly due to the government's firm stance on the issue.

"Some of the operators who earn money by cheating felt greater pressure to make a living, so they closed," he said.

Dwindling visitor numbers and the diminishing advantages of the commercial street have also worsened the business environment, he added.

According to official figures, visitors to Zhongying Street dropped 12.5 per cent in 2005 from the previous year.

While some local residents worry that shopping outlet closures will further dampen visitors' enthusiasm for the street, experts said the government should issue a clear plan for its future direction.

Sun Xiao, curator of Zhongying Street's museum, suggested the government recover historical resources and introduce new measures to energize the street.

(China Daily April 7, 2006)