At risk of sounding like a broken record (anyone here remember records?), let me repeat:

It's up to you if you want to ride illegally, meaning without a genuine license or genuine registration or insurance. But when you are involved in an accident you'll sorely wish you'd done these three things because, even if you are doing everything right and someone else takes you out and it's completely their fault, if you are unregistered or unlicensed the authorities can assign 100% of the responsibility to you, and your insurance will balk at covering you. You'll be liable to spend 15 days in jail and/or be deported, though you might need a few self-financed weeks or months in the hospital first. None of this may be fair or reasonable, but it's the sea in which we swim if we ride in China, regardless of nationality.

I'm all for civil disobedience to protest unjust laws, but the track record of those who've tried this in China is not very good. More to the point, I'm not sure I understand the deep underlying moral or ethical principle for choosing to ride unlicensed, unregistered or uninsured. Would you do that in your home country?

cheers
euphonius