BEIJING (AP) - Beijing began issuing vanity plates on Monday after a six-year hiatus sparked by rude, crude and politically incorrect messages.
Top picks this time emphasized numbers considered desireable because they sound like certain auspicious words in Chinese, media reports said. One man waited for three days to obtain the plate number "NV8888," according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The number eight rhymes with the Chinese word for "prosper."
Reports said authorities would refuse to approve immodest messages, but didn't say if any had been applied for.
Beijing and other cities stopped issuing the plates in 2002 following media reports on provocative picks such as "USA 911" — an apparent reference to the Sept. 11 terror attacks in America. Other personalized plates included "SEX-001," and "TMD" — representing the first letters in a common Chinese obscenity. |