Taxi drivers in Sanya, Hainan Province, went back to work on Thursday, bringing to a close their three-day protest, local authorities said in a press release.

About 200 drivers had been protesting since Monday in front of the city's government building.

Chen Zhibang, head of the Sanya transport bureau, said the cabbies agreed to end the strike after the city's government promised to take measures to reduce their monthly rental fees and crack down on illegal operators.

At a ceremony to mark the resumption of taxi services, cabby Huang said: "The strike aimed to resolve the current problems with the taxi industry.

"We know we disrupted things a little, but we hope the government and the people understand why we did it," he said.

Several drivers, however, might need more than a little "understanding".

News website Hinews.com on Thursday reported that police have detained 20 protestors for vandalizing vehicles owned by non-striking colleagues.

Twenty-eight drivers were called in for questions, but eight were later released, the report said.

Meanwhile, authorities in Chongqing on Thursday also promised more support for licensed taxis.

In response to calls from the drivers, the government has launched a three-month campaign to combat the activities of illegal operators, government spokesman Zhou Bo was quoted as saying by the Xinhua News Agency.

The city's taxi drivers staged a two-day strike last week to protest high rental fees, fuel shortages and unfair competition from unlicensed cabs.

Also on Thursday, authorities in Beijing announced the launch of a 50-day campaign to crack down on illegal cabs and better regulate licensed ones, the Beijing News reported.

On Wednesday, the first day of the campaign, police detained 10 unlicensed cab drivers for operating near Beijing West railway station, the report said.

They now face fines of between 10,000 yuan (US$1,500) and 20,000 yuan, it said.

In Shanghai on Wednesday, transport officials used a compactor to crush 21 illegal taxis they had seized earlier, as "a warning to others", the Shanghai Youth Daily reported on Thursday.

Zhang Liwei, head of the transport bureau, was quoted as saying that officials had impounded more than 18,000 illegal taxis since the beginning of the year.

A total of 25,000 such vehicles were confiscated last year, and 23,000 in 2006, he said.

In Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province, a similar crackdown on unlicensed cabs, launched on Saturday, has so far led to 43 vehicles being impounded, Xinhua reported on Thursday.

(Xinhua News Agency / China Daily November 14, 2008)