Nanjing car salesmen Mr. Chen got himself into a bit of a pickle down town recently by spreading a very serious rumour in order to boost internal revenue.
Chen circulated the allegation that the Nanjing government had planned to curb car sales in the city.
In effect, Chen was hoping the people of Nanjing would go out in a mad rush and buy up big, in the ridiculous panic that they wouldn’t be able to buy a car for when they needed one, and that is exactly what they did.
As gullible as it might seem there is a method to his madness. Traditionally governments across the country have curbed the buying of motor vehicles in order to solve bigger problems such as traffic congestion and pollution.
China over, drivers with certain number plates are restricted from driving on certain days, under certain conditions and in certain areas. Drivers must follow an odd and even system; odd number plates drive some days and evens the next.
Mr. Chen is not the only person willing to take a gamble on what the government may or may not do. Xinhua News Network sprung local impresario Mr. Wu (pseudonym) storing hundreds of second hand cars on a large plot of land in Jiangning. He plans to acquire the cars at the cheapest prices and sell them when and if the government decides to limit car sales.
Given that other governments such as Tianjin and Shenzhen did not release information that they were going to enforce such a rule until three hours before they made the change does give the people of Nanjing more reason to be concerned. However, in saying that, online gullibility seems to be a continuing influence in retail sales.
Chen was detained by the Nanjing police for five days.
