Taxi license fees

    SHENZHEN will abolish a rule on rental license fees for taxis, according to a meeting of the city’s legislature Wednesday which reviewed a proposal on the suspension of related regulations regarding auctioning, leasing and rent-fixing in the taxi service business.

    Taxi drivers in China have to pay a rental fee to taxi companies for the right to operate a taxi. This is a fixed amount that includes the government’s portion of the franchise fees as well as vehicle depreciation, insurance and management fees.

    The nullification is being made to meet the demand of the taxi industry, which has been challenged by app-based cabs and the promotion of new-energy vehicles.

    Blackmailers arrested

    TWO suspects in Bao’an District, identified as Lang and Li, were arrested for blackmailing a woman with nude photos recently.

    The victim, Wang, reported to Liutang Police Station on April 16, saying that she was blackmailed for 26,000 yuan (US$3,771) in a hotel in Bao’an District on April 15. The two suspects took nude photos of her.

    Police arrested the suspect, Lang, in Lijing New Village an hour after receiving the report and arrested the other suspect Li near Liutang Primary School that evening.

    Slimmer chance

    A TOTAL of 672,234 applicants snapped up the 2,934 car plates in the fourth round of the lottery that ended Wednesday. The city’s car plate quota administration offered 3,334 plates including 400 for corporate applicants in the latest round of the lottery.