Its not everyday the PLA goes to war, just the odd skirmish with the unfriendly neighbors (Russia, India, and Vietnam) over the years, but now times are good, and when you dont have a war budget to spend, money just keeps pilling up, especially when you have your fingers in many many pies (like real estate). It didnt come as a surprise when this car was sent to us:
Click image to enlarge
A Maserati with Guangdong military plates on it, they must have some spare cash, the Guangdong Military.
Actually the army license plate is fake. Some unscrupulous individuals use counterfeit army/government issue plates to circumvent tolls and rules because under existing traffic laws, army vehicles have right of transit and won’t be stopped/ticketed.
Ash, If you and Elen disappear can I have your house? your car?… your bike?
That plate is not necessarily fake and it could very well be one of those purchased through the “guanxi net” by some “businessman” from his PLA colonel friend.
A situation late last year shed light on this problem when a Guangzhou doctor found illegally using a real PLA plate on his car was shot and killed by the PSB one night. During a routine license check, he tried to escape when the police discovered he was not registered to use the plate, and he dragged the police officer along the road before the guy shot him.
Guangzhou Military District is the single most corrupt one I’ve seen in my travels (the emperor is very far, indeed) with PLA plated Porsche Cayennes, VW Touaregs (V8), Audi A8s, and countless lesser Mercedes and BMWs. It really seems as if 1 out of every 5 cars these days on the streets of GZ is registered to either the Army, Wujing, or some other “official” entity that needn’t heed traffic laws or common courtesy.
I wish I had the balls to stick a fake plate on my car! Instead I may well just go for the usual tactic of leaving a policemans hat on the parcels shelf. Its less risky!
The Guangzhou military have a massive business empire that Uncle Jiang Zemin severly curtailed in the late 90s.