Beijing will issue a series of policies to boost the city's private car market, including giving the non-Beijing residents the right to buy and register cars in the Chinese capital.

The Beijing municipal government will issue a series of preferential policies to boost the city's private car market, including giving the non-Beijing residents the right to buy and register cars in the Chinese capital.

A commentary in Beijing News says this is a positive move, but the paper questioned the motives behind the new policies.

The article says in the past non-Beijing residents could only buy cars by "borrowing" locals identity cards, or by using the name of a company.

This causes problems when people are involved in accidents and need to make insurance claims or have dealings with police.

The Beijing News article says it's doubtful that the policies will boost car sales, saying people who really need a car already have one.

It says similar restrictions still exist for non-Beijing residents in the areas of real estate and telecommunications.

The article concludes by saying non-Beijing residents contribute a great deal to the city construction, and pay taxes so they should enjoy the same social resources.

It encourages governments to make laws that are "people oriented," not "market oriented". And policies should not only benefit a certain group.

(CRI January 10, 2005)