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  1. #1 Only in Beijing? Protect your legal plate!!!! 
    Danger, Will Robinson! Lao Jia Hou's Avatar
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    We have all become used to strange "rules" and "policies" in China, but this one hit home ... hard.

    Over on a Chinese board, there is a lively discussion about a "rule" in Beijing concerning motorcycle plates. Here is the thread.

    Apparently, if someone steals your legal plate ("A" plates are around 25,000 rmb these days), you are screwed.

    Now, one would naturally (and reasonably) assume that if someone stole the plate off your bike, that you would just go down to the Traffic Management Bureau (TMB) and endure the bureaucracy for a replacement (either the same number, or a new number). Well, NOT in Beijing. If someone steals your motorcycle plate, you can NOT get a new plate until the police find your old one. Yup, that's correct ... you are without a plate until the police, via their stellar investigative and enforcement practices, find your old one (and what is the chance of that?!?!?!?!)

    Apparently, this "rule" is only in Beijing.

    After reading about this, and chatting with a few "in the know" people I trust, I decided I better go to the source (TMB) for an answer. True to form, there isn't really an answer, but generally yes, if someone steals your plate you cannot get a new one until the old one turns up. Incredible.

    OK, so I asked the "helpful authorities" ... that means, therefore, that if you drop 400,000 rmb on a fancy new LEGAL BMW/Harley/Ducatti, and then some joker steals the license plate one dark night, you actually can't ride it any more. The answer ... sure you can, but first you have to get a brand new plate (i.e., another 25,000 rmb). OMG.

    It gets worse ... there is another "rule" that when you have a new plate, you cannot transfer it to another bike until after 3 years of ownership on one bike. So, in the (unlikely) event that after you drop another 25K for another plate and the old plate miraculously turns up, guess what ... you now have two legal A plates on one bike, but cannot transfer either until one of those A plates is 3 years old.

    What if the thief steals the whole bike? Same story - your plate is gone, too.

    For reference, with cars, if someone steals your plate you are entitled to a quick replacement, same or different number (your choice).

    I'm going to weld my plates to my bikes.
    Last edited by Lao Jia Hou; 05-07-2012 at 02:54 AM. Reason: grammar,typos
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