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Appropriate Parking
posted Wednesday, 25 July 2007
Liuzhou Parking cops are pretty efficient. Park in the wrong place and your vehicle will be towed away and held to ransom. They even have motorcycle kidnapping divisions. There are, of course, designated parking places but these are not usually near where you want to go, are often full and you have to pay.So - what to do? Well, this is one reason I do not own a car here. The main reason is that I don’t particularly want to drive among the under-trained, ill-skilled, over-confident, utterly selfish morons who make up the driving public.
I take taxis. Taxi drivers have a vested interest in not smashing up their vehicles – although I have twice been in taxis involved in minor collisions. Taxi drivers worry about the tax, insurance (ha!), and where to keep the vehicle at night. And they don’t park! They just keep moving.
I’ve worked out that, not only am I saving a fortune by using taxis rather than purchasing my own vehicle, but I’m also supporting the local economy!
There is, however, another way to get round the parking problem. Join the army!
Many years ago, Jiang Zemin, then President of China and also Chairman of China's Central Military Commission ordered that, in future, all military personnel must obey the same laws as every one else. Of course, having satisfied the PR requirements, life went on as normal and the military continue to do exactly as they please.
This chap decided to park his car. He did find a legitimate place to park, but clearly had some difficulty manoeuvring his vehicle into the box. Too much Baijiu can do that! Never mind. It’s a military vehicle. The cops won’t touch it.
How do I know that it's military? The number plate gives it away. Red letters at the beginning. This one is from Guangzhou Military Region.
There are cases of fake army plates being used and last time I was in Nanning, I saw military police stopping all vehicles bearing military plates to check their bona fides. They were checking for two things.
a) Were the plates real?
b) Did someone in the military lend the vehicle to his brother-in-law or neighbour to accumulate guanxi?
In the meantime I’ll continue to support the families of Liuzhou's taxi drivers. Or walk.
There are cases of fake army plates being used and last time I was in Nanning, I saw military police stopping all vehicles bearing military plates to check their bona fides. They were checking for two things.
a) Were the plates real?
b) Did someone in the military lend the vehicle to his brother-in-law or neighbour to accumulate guanxi?
In the meantime I’ll continue to support the families of Liuzhou's taxi drivers. Or walk.
1. canrun left...
Friday, 27 July 2007 7:49 pm
I really, really, really hate the white license plate bastards. The Black
Audis especially get to me. How the HELL to PLA members make that kind of
money? Oh,wait...don't answer that. The "People's Army." Bulls--t.