Vehicle reform warmly welcomed

Twenty years after the launch of government vehicle reform we have finally seen a breakthrough. The main resistance has come from interest groups, who are officials at various levels with power in hand - that's why the determination of the top leadership is needed to remove that resistance.

Ye Qing, deputy director of the bureau of statistics of Hubei province, Beijing News, July 17

Data show the government vehicle reform can save 30 to 50 percent of public funds. That's reasonable, because the canceling of government vehicles can save the cost of purchasing and maintenance, fuel bills, parking fees, as well as the salaries for drivers and staff needed for the vehicles upkeep. That's a very large sum compared with the planned traffic subsidies for officials.

Zhu Lijia, professor of the Chinese Academy of Governance, Beijing News, July 17

The issues associated with government vehicles, including the costs involved and their use for private purposes, have long been discussed by the media; reform in this area is only part of the comprehensive reform going on and we can see the top leadership's firm determination in propelling that.

People's Daily, July 17

Replacing government vehicles with subsidies has been discussed for a long time and many concerns have been raised, including officials continuing to use government cars while getting the subsidy or "purchasing" the canceled vehicles at very low prices and the question of who will supervise the implementation. The plan has answered all such questions. With detailed regulations covering almost every possible situation the plan is very practical, giving people confidence of its success.

cnr.cn, July 17

In order to be implemented to the full, government vehicle reform needs a set of supporting measures, of which the most important should be strengthening public supervision. The auctioning of existing government vehicles should be made fully transparent. All the remaining government vehicles should be given special plates and prominent marks so that citizens could easily recognize them and report their misuses.

Qiao Shengqi, cjn.cn, July 17

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