The Shanghai Municipal Government is considering a plan to set up several areas downtown where laid-off workers can open small stalls selling food or other goods without a regular business license, a city official said yesterday.

The plan will be gradually implemented over the next few years, but no specific deadline has been set.

The government wants to improve supervision of street-side vendors while ensuring the unemployed and poor people can earn a living by running their own small businesses.

District governments around the city are still considering ways to supervise and authorize the stalls so that the market doesn't end up in complete chaos.

"We cannot simply outlaw all of the city's unlicensed stalls. If we did, many laid-off workers wouldn't be able to make a living," said Zhang Rongsheng with the Shanghai Urban Construction Hot Line Service Center.

He said the center has received hundreds calls about the unlicensed stalls in residential neighborhoods.

A recent survey found the city has around 37,000 unlicensed stalls, most of which are in downtown area, especially along the boundaries of districts and close to residential complexes.

Many of them sell cheap breakfasts or snacks at night.

For instance, there are dozens of breakfast stalls during rush hour below the light rail station on Baoxing Road E., which is near the border of Zhabei and Hongkou districts.

"We noticed that those food stalls, though illegal, do good business as many students and professionals don't have time to cook breakfast and normal restaurants don't open early enough for them," Zhang said.

A stall owner surnamed Zhang, who sells roasted egg rolls on a trolley during rush hour, said he and his wife have to regularly move between two districts to avoid different government watchdogs.

(Shanghai Daily July 15, 2005)