Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    SHENZHEN traffic police started fining violators for using the carpool lane on Binhe-Binhai Boulevard during rush hours yesterday, with the first ticket issued at 8:15 a.m.

    During rush hours — between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., and between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. — a total of 32 violators were fined, police said.

    Three police motorcycle squads were deployed yesterday to patrol along the high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lane, which is reserved for vehicles carrying at least one passenger during rush hours on workdays.

    A female driver who wasn’t carrying any passengers was ordered to pull over by police officer Liu Liu after she drove in the carpool lane. She was fined 300 yuan (US$48) for misusing the HOV lane, becoming the first violator to be given such a penalty. The woman admitted her violation and accepted the fine. She said she drove in the lane as she was in a rush for a meeting.

    “During the grace period between Aug. 1 and 7, around 10 percent of vehicles misused the HOV lane. The situation improves today and the number of violators has dropped by 5 percent,” Liu said.

    Liu said many drivers had been aware of the HOV rule, but they still used the lane in violation of the rule for their convenience.

    In 30 minutes between 8:15 a.m. and 8:45 a.m., six drivers were fined for such violations, according to Liu.

    Police said the information on violators will be included in the police data system.

     “I like the city. Shenzhen is a very impressive city, because within 35 years it shifted from a very small village into such a humongous city of millions of people. It’s amazing. The urban development of the city is also very impressive. I actually value the fact that Huawei is investing in Mexico. We are very happy to see that the Mexican soil is considered a good option for Huawei Technologies,” he said.

    According to Giralt, Shenzhen is an important trade partner for Mexico, representing around 9 percent of the total trade between the two countries. There are many Shenzhen-based companies that are investing in Mexico.

    “For example, Huawei is the largest investor from China in Mexico. In 2014, it announced investments of around US$1.5 billion. ZTE, BYD and Mindray also have investments or offices in Mexico,” he said.

    Giralt believes that part of his job consists in raising the awareness of the importance of Guangdong in Mexico as well as the awareness of Mexico in Guangdong.

    Apart from the promotion of a direct flight, Mexico also applies more flexibility to visa regulations. “For Chinese who have a visa to the United States, Canada, EU, Japan or the U.K., they can travel to Mexico directly without applying for a visa to Mexico,” he said.