Curbs on cadres' use of official cars raise plenty of questions

Guangzhou's plans to restrict the private use of government cars from June have become a hot topic, with many in the city asking why the restrictions will only apply on weekends.

Authorities across the mainland have promised for years to restrict the personal use of official cars, and the city has cast the move, the first of its kind by a local government, as an example of its determination to curb spending on official vehicles following a call for action from President Hu Jintao. But its scheme has triggered only outrage - and more questions.

The city will install global positioning satellite equipment and identification devices in its 200,000 official cars. Su Zhijia, deputy secretary of the Communist Party's Guangzhou committee, said data collected by the hi-tech devices would allow the party's discipline inspection commission - its anti-graft watchdog - to monitor the use of official cars and punish civil servants who used them inappropriately.

The most controversial of the new rules will allow civil servants to use government vehicles for personal purposes on weekends, as long as such use is approved by their supervisors and they pay for their trip.

After a pilot project in one Guangzhou district last year, the rate was set between 1.50 yuan and 1.70 yuan (HK$1.77 to HK$2.10) per kilometre.

Su also promised that the anti-graft watchdog would regularly publish details of those who had used official cars for personal purposes and how they had used them.

But many residents and some delegates to last month's annual meetings of the Guangzhou People's Congress and the city branch of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference opposed the new rules, with some describing them as just a costly show.