The ads posted around town read, “Put a license-plate frame on your car, and you won’t have to pay tolls, parking fees, or traffic citations.” The product was a James Bond-style license-plate flipper, letting drivers break laws with abandon using fake plates before swapping to a second set with the press of a button.
The Q selling these things in Hepingli, a Mr. Song, was charging 4000 RMB (484 USD) for installation of an automatic version, and 2000 RMB for a manual version. A Beijing Daily Messenger reporter investigating the ads was able to talk him down to 800 RMB (the fake plate itself goes for 500 RMB or so somewhere near Dongzhimen).
Good citizens that they are, one of the reporters pumped Mr. Song for information while the other called the cops on the guy. According to traffic law, he could be fined between 200 and 2000 RMB for faking or altering plates, and criminal law could throw him in jail for up to three years.
- Tip from Roddy
- Beijing Daily Messenger (Chinese): With the touch of a button, a plate gets a makeover