Campaign to end abuse of official number plates won't be easy
Attempt to stop decades of misuse of military plates faces twin hurdles of corrupt officials and crafty forgers
What is a military number plate? In China, it is much more than a set of numbers to identify a specific vehicle. It is a blatant sign of power, privilege, money and corruption.
The mainland's new leaders are now targeting the abuse of military number plates as part of their highly publicised anti-corruption campaign.
Under a set of rules to take effect on May 1, the People's Liberation Army will impose tighter controls over access to military plates, and they will be banned from use on luxury cars such as Mercedes-Benzes, BMWs, Cadillacs and Jaguars, officials said.
Whether such rules will work remains to be seen. After all, this is not the first time the PLA has cracked down on the abuse of military plates. In fact, soon after Hu Jintao came to power in 2002, the PLA decided to introduce a new set of plates, but the abuse has become more rampant and blatant over the past 10 years. The increase in abuse has become a rallying point for rising anger against corruption in the military, and the top brass of the PLA are clearly worried the military's image has been damaged.
The sight of cars with military plates zooming along emergency shoulder lanes past cars stuck in gridlocked traffic, flouting traffic regulations and skipping tolls has become common in Beijing and other cities.
Ironically, the power associated with the plates stems from the fact that all of China's former and incumbent leaders are driven around in black Audi sedans with military plates, apparently because they are served and guarded by a special PLA garrison, a service that dates back to the civil war years.