Shaanxi moves to curb license plate abuse
- Source: Global Times
- [08:32 December 09 2010]
- Comments
By Pan Yan
Authorities in Shaanxi Province have stopped issuing special license plates to cars registered with public security departments in a move seen as part of a campaign to crack down on corruption and abuse of privilege, the Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday.
Public security departments in Shaanxi began issuing license plates starting with the letter "O" to cars used by public security bureaus in 1995.
The report said the departments gave out 7,056 such plates before the cancellation.
The new policy came about after local Internet users posted online messages in August saying these cars do not obey traffic regulations.
Also, many wealthy people spend large sums of money to illegally procure such plate numbers, the report said.
A policeman in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, speaking to the Global Times on condition of anonymity, said Wednesday that cars with such license plates usually enjoy special privileges.
"Even if the drivers of these cars break the traffic rules, no traffic police will fine them, nor do these cars need to pay for parking or using highways, just because of their special status," he said.
The Shaanxi Provincial Public Security Department announced in September this year that cars bearing these license plates would not be allowed on roads from December 1.
The provincial traffic police headquarters said these cars had changed their plate numbers to ordinary ones by the end of November, the report said.
"I feel happy that the government pays attention to public opinion and resolves problems that concern us," Zhang Xiaoyu, a 25-year-old Xi'an resident, told the Global Times Wednesday.
Nearly half of the provinces and municipalities in China including Beijing, Shanghai and Hunan have abolished letter "O" license plates in recent years. In Qinghai and Hubei provinces, privileges related to letter "O" license plates have also been cancelled.
However, some experts say the cancellation of special car license plates might not lead to positive results.
Zhu Lijia, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, told the Global Times Wednesday that it was officials' privileges and corruption that should be rooted out in China, rather than license plate numbers.
"Without the special number, how can the public distinguish civil service cars and supervise their usage?" said Zhu.
Zhu also doubted if traffic police would fine a driver who breaks traffic regulations if it turns out the driver is a high-ranking official.
