Confrontation And Compromise: The Event Of Water Price Increase In Shanghai International Settlement In 1930s

Water supply utilities are one of the city people's daily lives, with a monopoly and non-profit characteristics.This feature requires the water company not to be completely same as other enterprises which are completely persue profit maximization, but one hand to ensure the normal operation of the company, another hand to meet the broad public consumers'demand, fully protecting the public interest.Therefore, the level of urban water prices not only affect the company's normal operations,but also jeopardize the public interest, and even cause the instability of social order.British water company was a largest provider of modern Shanghai in China which was founded in 1883, authrized by the Shanghai Municipal Council, approved financing by a number of British businessmen. After British commercial water company was established, in accordance with the concession agreement, water users were generally charged by a certain percentage of the rent without water restriction.Comparising with the measured, charging fees according to the proportion of rent cost lower, but the company reduced its revenueas with the expansion of business, low rent, a population of users increasing.In this case, the company obtain the approval of the Municipal Council, water price frequently improves, but it overall remains low state.In 1930, because of the influx of the outbreak of crisis in Shanghai, the price of silver fell.Water company advised Industry Bureau to improve fare increase under the plea of silver price fell which made it could not pay the lowest ground to the dividend to shareholders, and which was approved by the Municipal Council. In 1930, Chinese directors entered the Municipal Council, the Chinese suffrage movement for political rights shift to market power. In International Settlement, the Chinese taxpayers, real estate associations againsted the fare increase under the slogan of maintenance livelihood, and requested the Municipal Council to reject the water company's increasing price requestment.Party and government departments have also issued a declaration in Shanghai revealing that the Municipal Council and the water companies are institutions of imperialist aggression, and appealing all of Chinese to against the water price increases.Tax Municipal Council had invited Chinese and foreign experts to enter the water company to audit, director of the Municipal Council of the mediation of China ultimately decided to take on water billing, and developed a method of charging by meter classification.On the other hand, in the early 1930s, the event of the International Settlement water price increasing highlighted the the interaction between settlements of Chinese, Chinese government, enterprises and Industry Bureau and outsiders.It is because of the incident that it eventually led the parties to the interaction of the Shanghai International Settlement's water billing by the proportion of rental charge to the water meter billing by great changes, thereby promoting the pace of modernization of Shanghai city.