Getting legal: Registering my JH600 in Shanghai

[milton]

A while ago I came across a white paper, released 10 years ago by Shanghai city planners, titled “Shanghai traffic development, a white paper”. I believe this paper officially started the “motorcycle discrimination” in Shanghai.

It has 4 pages divided in 2 chapters, with the first one describing the background of the paper and the second “Traffic development strategy”. Most thoughts in the paper are visionary and sensible, aiming to offer to its subjects “fast, safe, comfortable and clean” traffic services. Then it singles out motorcycles in the last part of second chapter as follows:

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Translation:
“Motorcycle as a means of transportation is flexible, convenient and speedy. Due to these characteristics it grows fast in numbers. However, a large number of motorcycles on the road would disturb the normal traffic flow and in turn become a threat to the safety of city traffic. It would lower the operational efficiency of the traffic and produce a relatively larger share of harms to the city environment as a whole. “

This is rather bizarre. Even when motorcycles are accurately described as the preferred means of transportation of the people, they are not treated as part of the normal traffic, to be managed and protected equally as all others on the road. Instead they are considered menaces to the general traffic. In short, they are singled out and discriminated against. It was unscientific. It did not invite feedbacks from the “people” which it is supposed to serve. This short paragraph in the white paper created the most expensive motorcycle license plate in the world as a direct result.

[ZMC888]

This is rather bizarre. Even when motorcycles are accurately described as the preferred means of transportation of the people, they are not treated as part of the normal traffic, to be managed and protected equally as all others on the road. Instead they are considered menaces to the general traffic.

This is because people who make the laws are still in the mentality that cars are good, give you face and are wonderful. Something they've always wanted and can now have. They are also encouraged as being a five pillar economic growth factor. Also many Chinese people feel that they are not modern and will loose face if they don not use a car for even then the most frivolous few hundred meter school runs. These are cultural and political biases that have the effect of using laws to attempt to force other users off the roads in favor of cars, trucks are prime targets, secondary targets are various three wheeled vehicles and then motorcycles, followed by electric bicycles and then even bicycles.

Sooner or later the realization, as in western countries that building more roads just encourages more cars and that gridlock is inevitable. At first the sight of seeing a motorcycle scything through traffic will turn any Chinese car driver green with envy and seething with jealousy. However as time passes the idea for a minority of the wealthy, and even some of those in government will be a switch at least for some back to motorcycles, the green shoots of this are visible with wealthy people purchasing their high-end BMWs and Harleys, hopefully they will be increasingly be used for commuting and real recreational riding, rather than just showpieces.

[jape]

Yes, and again it isn't just a Chinese way of thinking, tally up the number of useless 4WD monsters in the suburbs and around schools in the mornings in any western city worldwide, unsafe but 'feel' safe, never go off-road, guzzle gas, usually just have mum and a kid or two. Then look at the number of 'hot' saloons, all tricked up with spoilers, mag wheels and V* or other sports engines that just take a 19 yr old a mile or so to work. I don't want to spoil anyone's fun, truly, even my next door neighbour with his five flash cars but somehow this greed and waste has to be curtailed so that the latest 'cool' is an appropriate car carrying passengers. maybe a fuel ration ...