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Power-curbs the answer to abuses

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-23 07:33

Restrictions to curb the misuse of government cars should be placed on the officials in power rather than on the cars they drive, says an article in Zhujiang Evening News. The following is an excerpt:

Songyuan city of Jilin province recently tried to regulate the undue usage of government cars with a series of measures, including a ban of government cars from parking in front of KTV clubs, bath houses and massage parlors.

We notice that all its measures are targeted at how to properly use government cars. In fact, officials can continue to entertain themselves in these clubs and parlors simply by parking the tax payer-funded cars in a place close to them, easily evading the rules.

So, the basic way to curb the overuse lies not in cars, but in how to regulate and limit political power.

(China Daily 02/23/2009 page4)