Official's Audi jibe criticized

Source: Global Times
[08:17 January 13 2010]
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A Chinese official's recent comment on foreign automobiles sparked jeers and sarcasm online.

Li Rongrong, director of the SASAC, the authority in charge of State-owned enterprises (SOEs), explicitly expressed his dissatisfaction with Audi, a luxury carmaker under Volkswagen.

According to media reports, Li said at a forum held at Peking University over the weekend that while the State-owned auto manufacturers are not up to world-class standards, German automakers are not much better either.

Li was particularly unhappy with the setting of the radio in his Audi and said he would prefer it to be installed in the back seat where he sits and could control it on his own, the reports said.

Li was quoted by the media as saying "At least, Audi does not treat me as God."

His speech was largely interpreted as a joke and prompted questions of whether Li has performed his duty well of promoting the efficiency of Chinese companies under his supervision.

An Internet user with the online handle wflrj commented on the Chinese website of the Wall Street Journal that, as the man in charge of SOEs, Li should ask whether those companies, which are much less efficient, have treated the Chinese consumers as God?

Another Internet user named crock10 asked Li on ifeng.com, "Minister, why don't you use a China-made car?"

China just overtook the US as the largest auto market in 2009 and is expected to produce 15 million vehicles this year. However, in a country where there is a huge and growing wealth gap, such remarks by high-ranking officials who drive in public-funded luxury cars are met with offense.

Global Times