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'Only' 2 million bikes stolen
24/01/2008 22:42 - (SA)
Beijing - China has halved the
number of bicycles stolen to about 2 million in the past nine
months, police said on Thursday, following a campaign to clamp
down on theft months before its capital hosts the Olympics.
The country, home to a world record 460 million bicycles,
has also cracked thousands of bike theft gangs, police
officials told a news conference webcast at china.com.cn.
"We strongly smashed illegal bicycle theft activities and
constrained the growth of new cases," said Ma Weiya,
vice-director of the police social security management
department.
"Our work in these aspects will not let up. We need to see
this work through to completion and ensure the problem of
bicycle theft is gradually and thoroughly resolved," he said. Must register bikes
The government has introduced a system of identification
numbers and buyers must register their bikes using their real
names as part of efforts to curb widespread theft.
Stolen bicycles are so common in some places that people
"shrug off the losses" rather than reporting them to police, Ma
said, adding that the campaign hoped to change that situation.
China used to be known as a nation of bikes, until market
reforms and a rapidly expanding middle class began to make cars
king in its urban centres.
But the government is trying to encourage its citizens to
use bicycles instead of cars, especially in cities like
Beijing, where air pollution is a major concern that threatens
to mar its hosting of the Olympic Games in August.
- Reuters
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