City installs satellite-tracking in govt cars

(ECNS) -- Yueyang city in Central China's Hunan province is installing Beidou satellite positioning and electronic identification systems in all government vehicles, Xinhua News Agency reports.

The system tracks all the destinations of government vehicles, and if a vehicle approaches an unauthorized area such as a karaoke bar, the system will send out a warning and the vehicle can be stopped by remote access.

Under the new policy, all officials must apply before using public cars, and will be charged if using them for non-official purposes.

The city's discipline inspection commission said the move aims to reduce expenses and eliminate the private use of government cars.

Chen Shaodong, who works for the commission, said as much as 20 million yuan ($3.27 million) will be saved annually because of the new system.

Chen said the city will carry out the plan despite complaints from some officials, and that it is an efficient way to prevent corruption.

All 4,200 government vehicles in Yueyang are to be installed with satellite positioning systems by the end of this month.