New regulations on official vehicle management: Officials below provincial and ministerial level will not be assigned dedicated cars

Provincial and ministerial-level officials' promotions "car follows the person"
Former Deputy Secretary of the Central State Organs Work Committee Li Hong revealed that before the new method is introduced, the approval for official vehicle allocation will be suspended, and the official vehicle quota will be re-examined.
Beijing News (Reporter Tu Chonghang) Yesterday, Li Hong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and former Deputy Secretary of the Central State Organs Work Committee, revealed that recently the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the "Management Measures for the Allocation and Use of Official Vehicles in Party and Government Organs," which set regulations respectively for provincial and ministerial-level units and units below that level. After provincial and ministerial-level officials are promoted, they cannot change vehicles; "the car follows the person."

The General Office issues document to regulate official vehicles
It is understood that this document has been distributed to party committees and governments at all levels but has not yet been made public. In early March, the Ministry of Finance issued the "Management Measures for the Budget and Final Accounts of Official Vehicles in Party and Government Organs" based on this method, strengthening the management of official vehicles at the budget and final account stages.
Additionally, provinces are revising local regulations according to this method. Before the new method is introduced, all approvals for the establishment and allocation of official vehicles in party and government organs and public institutions are suspended, and the official vehicle quotas will be re-assessed.
The number of official vehicles purchased will decrease
Li Hong said that after the launch of this official vehicle reform, the number of official vehicles purchased is expected to decrease to some extent. Moreover, the reform will be a gradual process.
Previously, official vehicle reforms were proposed multiple times, but the situations differ between central and local governments, developed and remote areas, involving many parties and large numbers. Some places have a reluctance to tackle the issue, and it may also affect the personal interests of many officials.
According to Li Hong, the official vehicle reform must be promoted. After the issuance of the documents by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council, localities will make adjustments accordingly. In the future, reforms will also be carried out through market mechanisms and monetization.
Highlights

1. Replacement cycle for provincial and ministerial-level officials' vehicles extended to 8 years
Li Hong revealed that the Management Measures for the Allocation and Use of Official Vehicles stipulate that for provincial and ministerial-level officials, the vehicle replacement cycle changes from every 5 years to every 8 years. If the vehicle is still usable after 8 years, it will continue to be used. The displacement requirements for vehicles assigned to provincial and ministerial-level officials have not been lowered, but cost requirements have been reduced.
After provincial and ministerial-level officials are promoted, they cannot change vehicles. Whether it is a promotion or a lateral transfer, the vehicle must follow the person. Previously, when officials were promoted or transferred from Unit A to Unit B, they had to report and apply for approval to purchase a new vehicle.
2. Vehicles for units below provincial and ministerial level are not fixed to individuals
For units below the provincial and ministerial level, the new method stipulates displacement and price requirements and also requires the number of vehicles to be allocated according to personnel quotas, but vehicles cannot be fixed to individuals.
For officials below the department and bureau level, according to previous regulations, they are not assigned dedicated vehicles, but currently many county and township-level officials have dedicated vehicles, "which is against regulations."

■ Commentary
Official vehicle reform: The saved data is right there
The public not only needs to see the determination for official vehicle reform in government work reports but also needs to see progress in information disclosure. Like representative Ye Qing's "one-person official vehicle reform," everything should be spoken with data.
According to reports, Ye Qing, a National People's Congress representative, after transferring from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law to Deputy Director of the Hubei Provincial Bureau of Statistics in 2003, immediately implemented a "one-person official vehicle reform": purchasing a private car for self-driving, with a monthly fuel subsidy of 1000 yuan from the unit for commuting, and actual reimbursement for official trips outside Wuhan. It is calculated that his "one-person official vehicle reform" saves at least 80,000 to 100,000 yuan annually.
Based on personal experience, Ye Qing submitted proposals on official vehicle reform for eight consecutive years, but with little effect. Although he was called "the clean official with the lowest vehicle cost" by netizens for pioneering the reform, it "only influenced two and a half people to follow."
Although Ye Qing's "one-person official vehicle reform" has few imitators, it provides a highly valuable case study for understanding the necessity and possibility of official vehicle reform.
Imagine if one official vehicle and one official could save 80,000 yuan annually, what an astonishing total that would be nationwide? According to Ye Qing's calculation: "Even if the annual expenditure on official vehicles is 300 billion yuan, if we carry out reforms, the most conservative estimate is a saving of 100 billion yuan." This figure allows us to glimpse the huge waste caused by current official vehicle consumption and the vast potential for saving taxpayers' money through reform.
Ye Qing's personal practice also proves that official vehicle reform does not affect official activities at all. After "purchasing a private car" for travel, his work was not affected in any way. This shows that the obstruction to official vehicle reform ultimately lies in vested interests. The reform has been called for over twenty years but has always been "in neutral," never truly starting. Issues such as over-quota vehicle allocation, private use of official vehicles, and vehicle-related corruption have not been effectively curbed. If these "corrupt demands" and genuine official vehicle needs are not made public and supervised externally, official vehicle reform will remain "only heard on the stairs."
Premier Wen Jiabao emphasized in this year's government work report: In principle, there will be zero growth in expenditures for official vehicle purchases and operating costs in 2011, effectively reducing administrative costs. However, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance earlier this year, the annual growth rate of official vehicle purchase expenditures currently exceeds 20%. Compared to this, the "zero growth in principle" in the government work report is clearly a significant commitment.
Recently, the Ministry of Finance also issued the Management Measures for the Budget and Final Accounts of Official Vehicles, separating the budget for official vehicle purchase and operating expenses from the general "official expenditure" ledger, so official vehicle expenses will no longer be a confusing account.
However, whether it is "zero growth in principle" or strengthening the management of official vehicle budgets, if it lacks public awareness, participation, and supervision, it may ultimately fall into the trap of internal closed-door reforms. If previous data cannot be disclosed, the public will have no way to judge whether there is truly "zero growth" this year; over the years, local official vehicle reforms have not lacked practice, but most have been buyouts conducted under the premise of "ensuring vested interests are not affected," lacking strict and binding budget constraints from the people's congress and rarely seeing public supervision. Compared to Representative Ye Qing's "one-person official vehicle reform," lack of transparency and openness is a common weakness in local official vehicle reforms.
After witnessing the strange phenomenon of twenty years of ineffective official vehicle reforms, the public not only needs to see the determination for official vehicle reform in the government work report but also needs to see progress in information disclosure. Like Ye Qing's "one-person official vehicle reform," everything is spoken with data; as long as it is fully disclosed, the public can also accept government subsidies for civil servants' vehicle fuel and other expenses. It is hoped that "zero growth in principle" will become a strong brake, and the curtain of official vehicle reform can truly be drawn open from this point.