September 17, 2007

China say no to cars this Saturday

China will initiate its first-ever nationwide "no car day" this weekend in an effort to promote environmental health and alleviate increasingly gridlocked urban roads. Residents in 108 cities will be urged to take public transport, ride bikes or walk on the nation's first "no car day" on Saturday. Ministry of Construction is the sponsor of the activity. Government officials and state-run enterprise employees in some cities would be encouraged not to drive, while other urban centers would ban government-owned cars from taking to the roads altogether.

A week-long campaign to publicize the government's goal of getting 50 percent of the nation's urban residents to use public transport instead of private cars would also be initiated. China's auto industry has been a key component of the nation's booming economy with vehicle production rising by 32.7 percent in July compared to the same period last year.

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