In a bid to stamp out unauthorized taxis China has launched a
national campaign which will see serious offenders sentenced to
periods of supervised labor.
The campaign is being mounted by the Ministry of Construction,
the Ministry of Public Security and four other central government
departments. It will run from May until November, said the Ministry
of Construction.
The initiative will target cabs without licenses or those using
forged documents, the criminal gangs behind these operations and
the civil servants giving protection to illegal operators.
Many Chinese cities have a significant numbers of illegal cabs.
The majority of them operate in areas not served by public
transport and they can be cheaper than legal cabs as they don't pay
taxes.
Beijing, the Chinese capital, is one of the first cities to take
the tough, new measures. City police have recently detained 122
illegal cab operators with one of them being sentenced to one year
and three months of supervised labor.
The city is estimated to have between 60,000 to 70,000 illegal
cabs compared with 66,000 wholly legitimate vehicles.?
Hotlines and websites will be set up so citizens can report
illegal cabs to the authorities. Rewards for information will be on
offer. .
(China.org.cn, Xinhua News Agency May 30, 2006)
