MCLC: fight corruption one license plate at a time

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: fighting corruption one license plate at a time
***********************************************************

Source: NYT (5/1/13):
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/02/world/asia/china-cracks-down-on-military-
license-plates.html

Fighting Corruption in China, One Special License Plate at a Time
By EDWARD WONG

HANGZHOU, China — A photograph in the official newspaper of the People’s
Liberation Army over the weekend showed
<http://www.chinamil.com.cn/jfjbmap/content/2013-04/28/content_34247.htm>
a grinning military officer standing proudly in his green uniform, as if
he had single-handedly repelled a foreign invasion.

What he had accomplished was getting a new license plate, which he held
aloft under a headline that said: “Holding a new license plate, sense of
responsibility in heart.”

In their latest attempt at cracking down on corruption, Chinese leaders
are taking aim at license plates, specifically those on military vehicles.
The military is issuing new plates
<http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90786/8227841.html> and generally
excluding luxury cars from receiving them. As of Wednesday, all military
vehicles were supposed to have the new plates.

The campaign has ignited significant interest because many Chinese
complain about regular abuses of privilege by people driving cars with
military plates — speeding through traffic, taking the emergency lane and
running red lights, for instance.

Police officers generally do not stop cars with military plates. Drivers
with the plates can also avoid paying road tolls and parking fees. Because
of the privileges attached to them, military officers have been known to
sell them or pass them on to friends and relatives. An entire industry has
arisen devoted to the creation and sale of counterfeit military plates.

“It is hoped that the new license plate policy will help to reduce such
irregularities and dispel public anger resulting from military license
plate abuses and other forms of corruption,” said an article by Xinhua,
the state news agency.

Cars that will not receive military plates unless they are officially
purchased as military equipment include models made by Bentley, BMW,
Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche and Land Rover, Gen. Zhao Keshi, director
of the army’s General Logistics Department, said in an earlier Xinhua
report 
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-03/29/c_132272179.htm>.
Private vehicles and those of local officials will be ineligible for the
new plates, he said, and anyone caught leasing, lending or stealing the
new plates will be punished.

Southern Daily, an official newspaper in Guangdong Province, reported in
2011 that real military plates good for six years can sell for nearly
$45,000, while fake ones can go for about $100.

Chinese leaders have tried introducing new military plates before, but
abuses have grown. Luxury sedans with military plates are spotted with
frequency on city streets. Chinese take photos of the vehicles and post
them online <http://auto.people.com.cn/n/2013/0402/c1005-20993315-2.html>,
which inspires vitriol against the army.

The military plates campaign, announced this year, is being attributed to
Xi Jinping, the new leader of China. Mr. Xi, who is also chairman of the
Central Military Commission, has made fighting corruption a hallmark of
the early months of his administration. Corruption is one of the main
sources of animus directed by Chinese at the Communist Party. Mr. Xi has
said corruption threatens the very existence of the party — and that he
will pursue both “tigers and flies.”

Burnishing the military’s image is part of that campaign. Under Mao
Zedong, the army had a reputation for honorable conduct and ascetic
living, in contrast to the reputed decadence of officers of the
Kuomintang, which the Communists fought to take over China. But in recent
years, military officers have become known for a high-flying lifestyle.

Xinhua said replacing the military plates was only “a starting point for
the military and government to curb corruption.”
“Those who use military vehicles must follow the government’s call to
improve their work style, reduce extravagance and cultivate a more frugal
and hard-working image,” Xinhua said.

The military began issuing the new plates on Sunday. That day, the
People’s Liberation Army Daily ran an op-ed article by Xin Shihong that
said: “In this age of the Internet, the moment a military car drives out
of the barracks, its every move is under public scrutiny. Every word and
action of the driver and passengers are carefully monitored.”

In Beijing, a resident of a complex of high-end apartments known as
Central Park said military plates on luxury cars had once been common, but
the plates had mostly disappeared after the policy was announced.

China is a huge and growing market for luxury carmakers, and it is unclear
how the new policy on military plates and the general crackdown on
wasteful spending by officials will affect the market. Stephen Green, head
of Greater China research for Standard Chartered Bank, said he had heard
that government purchases accounted for roughly 10 to 15 percent of all
car sales in China. He said he did not have a breakdown for luxury car
sales.

Alistair Thornton, a China economist for IHS Global Insight, said the
crackdown on luxury living was already being felt across the consumer
economy.

“The impact of the crackdown is not devastating, but there is certainly
softness in the retail sales data,” he said. “The impact can most clearly
be seen in the restaurant business, but there has been visible weakness in
the auto market — something that will inevitably deteriorate should the
crackdown intensify.”

On Wednesday, People’s Daily, the official party mouthpiece, published an
editorial that said officials were finding ways to transgress and indulge
in “low-key extravagance.” It said they were enjoying “saunas in
farmhouses” and hiding expensive Maotai liquor in water bottles.

Some are questioning the new policy on military plates. Dong Zengshou, a
party official at the Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, wrote
on his microblog on Wednesday that there should be more scrutiny over who
was driving the luxury cars.

“Who is using these extravagant military cars?” he wrote. “When will
military vehicles stop being used for private matters? If we don’t answer
these two questions, changing the license plates of these vehicles is
nothing but a waste of money.”

Sue-Lin Wong contributed research from Beijing.