It’s hard to prove the level of corruption that occurs in China, from envelopes stuffed with cash to lavish vacations the countries leaders are professionals at avoiding corruption in the public eye. That is except for those special times when they purchase luxury automobiles.
According to a report in the LA Times top ranking officials in China can be seen trotting around in Bentley’s and Maseratis at a time when unemployment is on the rise and factor conditions for many workers are questionable at best.
In fact the issue has become so bad that government censorship tells citizens not to take pictures of luxury vehicles and their drives, a censorship rule that is constantly being broken as more pictures are placed on websites to show the high level of corruption in the country.
According to a Beijing professor:
“Corruption on wheels is an accurate description of this problem.”
That particular professor has been protesting for years to stop the sale of luxury vehicles to officials, at least on the government dime. According to recent numbers the Chinese government spends $15 billion annually on vehicles with much of that money going towards automobiles that can cost easily over $100,000.
As one activist told the Times:
“You can’t get evidence about other kinds of corruption, such as people accepting envelopes of cash, but this you easily see for yourself,”
In the meantime it’s hard to crack down on the practice, even as new restrictions are placed by the Chinese government one shop owner says politicians quickly find ways around those laws and continue to buy up expensive vehicles at record rates.
