Around the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, news circulated that businesses in Nenjiang County of Heihe City and Hailun County of Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province, were closing down en masse. In Nenjiang, some restaurants, supermarkets, and entertainment venues chose to close to avoid inspections, fearing rectification, closure, and penalties, after news of random inspections broke. The Hailun City Fire and Rescue Bureau subsequently issued a statement denying any city-wide, large-scale fire safety inspections or unified business closures.
Footage and content circulating on social media platforms indicate that Nenjiang City in Heihe City recently conducted random inspections of local restaurants, supermarkets, and entertainment venues. Many shops and restaurants in the area were closed on June 20th and 21st. The video poster claimed that local businesses closed their doors out of fear of inspections from higher authorities. Another video shows the shutters of several shops with storefront signs closed, with captions reading: "Look how funny it is! Whichever shop has a sign is closed. Business owners have it tough; a simple fine can wipe out months of hard work."
Businesses in Nenjiang and other areas closed their doors to avoid inspection.
Mr. Liu, a netizen from Nenjiang, told our station in an interview on Monday (22nd) that local businesses are generally worried about being inspected these days, and many small shops have chosen to temporarily close. He said, "Recently, they've been inspecting fire-fighting equipment, fire escape routes, and the sanitation environment. They're demanding that businesses buy their designated fire-fighting equipment and fire extinguishers, saying that your equipment is substandard and they'll shut down your shop if you don't buy it, so no one is opening. A relative of mine who runs a small supermarket was also asked to buy fire extinguishers. Business is already tough, and one inspection could force you to make changes and spend money, so everyone closes down as soon as they hear there's an inspection."
Another screenshot shows that local officials forwarded inspection arrangements from higher authorities to company leaders, stating that inspections would be conducted from the 20th to the 23rd and on the 27th of this month, requiring companies to ensure fire safety, environmental protection, and sanitation. The notice stated that if a company failed to meet the requirements, it could temporarily suspend production and close its factory gates during the inspection period, and reminded companies to be wary of strangers visiting; if found to be non-compliant, companies could be fined 50,000 yuan or even have their factories shut down.
Another person at the scene stated that after a large number of businesses in the area shut down and refused inspection, higher authorities instructed each town to again notify officials responsible for overseeing the businesses, urging them to maintain normal production and operations and not to close down without cause. If any businesses again shut down or refused inspection without cause, both officials and businesses will be held accountable.
Helen officials deny unified rectification
Around the same time, similar rumors circulated in Hailun City, Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province. In the video, the shutters of many shops along the street were closed, with the caption: "All the shops in Hailun are closed for Father's Day? Does anyone know what's going on?" Social media accounts that shared the video claimed that businesses in Hailun City, Heilongjiang Province, were collectively closing due to government inspections.
On June 21, the Hailun City Fire and Rescue Bureau issued a notice stating that information circulating online and in social groups recently regarding Hailun City's large-scale fire safety inspections, imposing hefty fines on businesses, and forcing businesses to suspend operations for rectification has caused public concern and disrupted the normal production and business order in the area.
The announcement stated that, as of now, the Hailun City Fire and Rescue Bureau has not organized any city-wide, large-scale fire safety inspections or unified business closures for rectification. Rumors circulating online regarding "city-wide fire safety inspections, unified business closures for rectification, comprehensive investigations and shutdowns, and hefty fines" are all false.
Mr. Guo, a food delivery driver in Helen, told reporters that he believed there were indeed fire safety inspections planned in the area. He said, "Now that all the shops are closed, the fire and rescue bureau is afraid of being blamed by its superiors, so they are publicly denying it." Mr. Guo said he heard that the authorities had abandoned the original plan and canceled the relevant inspections in order to reduce the impact on public opinion.
Grassroots inspections raise concerns among merchants
In November 2024, this station reported that many factories and shops in Chaozhou and Shantou, Guangdong Province, closed their operations to avoid heavy penalties due to upcoming production and hygiene inspections. Local night market stalls were also ordered to close for a week. Local authorities stated that this was only the action of individual businesses and not an attempt to evade inspections.
Mr. Chen, a Guangzhou netizen, told our station that similar mass business closures had occurred in the area before, but those were due to demands for rent reductions. He believes that the Heilongjiang merchants' closure this time is a way to avoid inspections and fines. He said, "Many years ago, thousands of merchants here also went on strike, demanding rent reductions. The Heilongjiang merchants are also closing their shops to avoid fines. In recent years, there have been cases in Shaoguan and Shantou where local governments have fined garment factories for substandard fire safety facilities."
In recent years, many places in China have inspected businesses and enterprises under the guise of fire safety, work safety, environmental protection, sanitation, and urban appearance improvement. For small businesses in county towns, the need to suspend operations for rectification, fines, renew permits, and replace equipment can all become operating costs.
"Random selection and public disclosure" is a regulatory approach promoted by China's market supervision system in recent years. It usually refers to randomly selecting inspection targets, randomly assigning law enforcement inspectors, and publicly disclosing the inspection results to the public.
The official explanation is to reduce arbitrary inspections and improve regulatory efficiency. However, in practice at the grassroots level, businesses still have concerns about inspection standards, penalties, and rectification costs. The mass closures of businesses in Nenjiang and Hailun to avoid inspections indicate that grassroots inspections have already impacted the business expectations of businesses in the county.
