BEIJING, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cab drivers went on strike in another two Chinese towns on Monday, demanding government intervention on issues including high monthly cab rental fees and unlicensed taxis.

    Just a week ago, cab drivers in China's fourth largest city, Chongqing, launched a two-day strike to protest insufficient supplies of compressed natural gas (CNG), which fuels most cabs in the city, competition from unlicensed cabs, high fines for traffic violations and the unfair division of fares between drivers and companies.

    No cabs were seen running in Sanya, a major tourist city in south China's island province of Hainan, on Monday.

    More than 200 cab drivers began to gather in front of the municipal government building at about 6 a.m..

    Chen Chao, deputy secretary general of the government, and a senior official of the local traffic administration, arrived at the scene earlier in the day for talks, but none of the drivers was willing to sit at the negotiation table as a representative.

    The protest remained orderly until the afternoon, when a working cab passed, which prompted the striking drivers to stop it.

    One of the drivers fainted and was sent to hospital.

    Police detained about 10 drivers involved in the disturbance that lasted for a few minutes. The crowd dispersed at about 4 p.m..

    The city has about 1,200 licensed cabs, owned by six companies, cab drivers said.

    However, some of the companies ignored the municipal government policy that cut drivers' monthly fees to the firms from 7,200 yuan (1,054 U.S. dollars) to an average 5,300 yuan as of Jan. 1, said adriver who only offered his surname as Zhang.

    In addition, many fee-dodging unlicensed cabs were operating rampantly across the city, further cutting into their earnings.

    The drivers also called for permission to set up their own organizations to protect their interests.

    Yi said his administration held a meeting with representatives from cab companies and drivers from Nov. 6 to 9, and the companies agreed to return fees to the drivers after new rental contracts were signed in line with the new policy.

    Apparently, the decision did not reach drivers in time because of communication problems, said Yi.

    More than 100 airline passengers waited for hours for shuttle buses after being stranded at the airport as cabs were out of service.

    "I never realized that it's so inconvenient without a cab. I had to transfer several times to buses today," said a native of Sanya, who only identified himself as Yin.

    Cab drivers said they would continue strike until the problems are solved.

    Also Monday, cab drivers in the Yongdeng County of northwest China's Gansu Province staged a strike near the county's transport bureau office building.

    "There are about 280 licensed cabs in the county, and about 160were on strike," said Ma Jiangshan, a representative of striking drivers.

    "The increasing number of unlicensed cabs have been stealing our business. The income of licensed drivers has dropped greatly," he said.

    About 700 illegal cabs operated in the county, said Ma.

    He said the strike would continue until the government gave them a timetable of getting rid of the unlicensed cabs.

    Guo Shiling, director of the Transport Bureau of Yongdeng County, said law-enforcement personnel had difficulty identifying illegal cabs, which were mostly private cars with no visible cab signs.

    "Even if they are caught, we can only impose a fine, but we cannot revoke their driving licenses, so they always return to work as unlicensed cabs," he said.

    "We launched a 100-day campaign with local traffic police last Wednesday to crack down on illegal cabs severely," he added.

    In Chongqing, the government promised to reduce the fees that drivers pay to their companies and increase CNG supplies.

    Starting Sunday, traffic authorities and police in Chongqing launched a crackdown on unlicensed cabs.

    "Illegal drivers will be fined 30,000 yuan (4,412 U.S. dollars) to 100,000 yuan and their illegal earnings will be confiscated," said a spokesman with the Chongqing Traffic Administrative Law Enforcement Corps.

    Bo Xilai, secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, met with representatives of cab drivers on Thursday, pledging to help increase their incomes.

    "There are more than 20,000 cab drivers in Chongqing, behind whom are more than 20,000 families. If their incomes increase, the lives of these families will improved. Our officials should always bear people's interest in mind," Bo said.