Gasgoo.com (Shanghai March 9) - The General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and State Council have recently approved and implemented new protocols regarding the allocation of government cars, the Beijing News reported today.
According to Li Hong, former deputy secretary for the national Work Committee, the new protocols prohibit provincial officials from switching automobiles after being promoted. In addition, lower officials are not guaranteed their own official car. Government departments will immediately halt all ongoing approval processes for official cars while implementing the new rules.
The legislation has yet to be officially approved. The Ministry of Finance will first commence on strengthening tax laws to improve management of the new policy.
Mr. Li admits that the new policy may cause automobile sales to further slump, but he insisted that reform of official car usage is a gradual process that needs to be taken one step at a time.
Similar measures were raised in the past, but due to disagreements between state and regional authorities, they were never successfully agreed upon. There is speculation that some regional officials were afraid of any loss to their personal privileges.
