China is still a police state dictatorship. IIRC those 14,000 bikes were confiscated with a change of policy. The policy was driven by bag snatches using bikes, so all bikes were banned using smog as the excuse.
The irony of course is the govt is being draconian towards the 'workers', the very basis of their political power. I was talking to an ex-pat aussie living in Honk Kong and he tells me it is an 'issue'.