Advertisement
Advertisement
Red licence plates might a way to combat official car misuse, a Beijing primary student suggested. Picture: SCMP

Netizens applaud idea of using red licence plates to stop abuse of official cars

Peony Lui
After a primary school student in Beijing suggested that government vehicles use red licence plates for easy recognition, China's netizens and scholars agreed this might be a sensible way to curb private use of government cars.

The misuse of official cars has recently become the focus of anti-corruption measures in China.

Different procedures by local governments have been introduced to stop such abuse. But Bing Zheng, a professor at Jilin University, said most had been ineffective.

“It’s hard to identify official cars on the street,” Bing explained. “It makes supervision and public participation difficult.”

But many people, including Bing, agree that use of red licences could be a better solution.

Other observers of China's “official car reforms” argue that harsher punishments should be adopted, along with better identification methods.

The “red licence” suggestion sparked considerable online discussion on Weibo. Many netizens applauded the idea. Some wondered whether the primary student’s proposal might become national policy.

 “Let’s use the power of social media and make it happen. Please re-tweet!” wrote one blogger.

 “It is such a simple solution - even a primary student can come up with it. The question is whether or not the government is willing to do it,” wrote another netizen.

Post