BEIJING, July 21 -- Some local governments' discriminatory policies against small-engined cars should be put in reverse gear, says an article in Beijing News. An excerpt follows:

    As petrol prices continue to soar, resources become depleted and environmental pollution worsens, the promotion of energy-efficient automobiles is of great importance both to drivers and the country as a whole.

    However, small cars, which consume less fuel, are discriminated against by some consumers and local governments alike.

    In those consumers' eyes, small cars do not fit in with the social status they wish to project a perception that drives many of them to buy larger cars.

    Some local governments, concerned about the image of their city, have discriminatory policies against small cars running in the city proper, such as banning them from entering the downtown area at designated times or limiting their use on some main streets.

    Currently, 84 cities in 22 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have such policies in place.

    To a large extent, many consumers' distaste for small cars stems from local governments' unfair policies because they cause so much inconvenience for drivers.

    A consumer's consumption is their personal preference, about which only limited guidance should be given.

    Local governments' biased policies should be stopped and corrected. Such policies run counter to our current campaign to build a conservation-oriented society.

    In Europe and the United States, government policies are favourable towards small cars, and it is big cars that are usually discriminated against.

    In the United States and Japan, owners of small cars are entitled to preferential treatment such as reduced consumption tax or parking fees.

    China is a populous country with limited resources. We have no reason to continue discrimination against the use of small cars if social and economic development are to be sustained.

    It is high time local governments scrapped their biased policies.

    (Source: China Daily)