BEIJING , March 9 --- The central government will require an additional three years of use for official vehicles for ministers and governors to reduce the costs of purchasing new cars, media have reported.
The new rule has been applied among all Party and government departments nationwide, the Beijing News reported on Tuesday. The new rule has not yet been made public, said Li, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee.
Under the old rules, the cars used by minister-level officials could be replaced as often as every five years, Li said. These officials will also keep the same cars when they assume new posts, he added.
The new rule also reiterated(重申) that officials ranking below minister-or-governor-levels should not be allocated cars. The cars possessed by their departments should be used on demand.
“It violates the rules for lower-ranking --- even county-level-officials to be allocated cars,” Li said.
Purchases of vehicles for official use have been heavily investigated, as they account for a large expenditure (花费) of public funds every year.
A survey on the Web news www.ifeng.com found 64 percent of respondents believed the new rule will be difficult to carry out because it is related to officials’ interests.
“Local government departments had halted(中断) approvals for requests for such vehicles and had started to work on new quotas(指标) under the new rules,” Li said. “The future reform of official vehicle use will introduce market mechanisms and monetization.”
Premier Wen Jiabao said in the annual government work report on Saturday that expenditures on such vehicles will not increase in 2011 compared with a year ago.
Beijing’s standing deputy mayor Ji Lin last week said the municipal (市政的) government will release the number of vehicles for official use in the capital as early as at the end of this month.
Earlier this month, the Minister of Finance had published a rule regulating the budgets for such vehicles.
小题1:What is the purpose of the new rule allocating vehicles among officials?
A．To promote a low-carbon lifestyle.
B．To cut down the present huge expenditures of purchasing cars.
C．To make good use of budgets for official cars.
D．To solve the problem of severe traffic jam.小题2:How often could the cars used by minister-level officials be replaced according to the new rule?
A．Every 3 years.
B．Every 5 years.
C．Every 8 years.
D．Every 10 years.小题3:What about the officials ranking below minister-or-governor levels in terms of official vehicles?
A．They can still possess special cars.
B．They can use their own private cars.
C．They can use cars whenever officially necessary.
D．They can be allocated second-hand cars.小题4:What is the public’s attitude toward the new rule’s fulfillment?
A．Uncertain.
B．Optimistic.
C．Indifferent.
D．Passive小题5:From the passage, we can infer that_________.
A．the government is determined to carry out the new rule
B．the new rule has not yet been made public
C．the new rule will benefit official’s interest
D．the new rule is applied to minister-level officials
