In a bid to stamp out unauthorized taxis China has launched a national campaign which will see serious offenders sentenced to periods of supervised labor.

The campaign is being mounted by the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Public Security and four other central government departments. It will run from May until November, said the Ministry of Construction.

The initiative will target cabs without licenses or those using forged documents, the criminal gangs behind these operations and the civil servants giving protection to illegal operators.

Many Chinese cities have a significant numbers of illegal cabs. The majority of them operate in areas not served by public transport and they can be cheaper than legal cabs as they don't pay taxes.

Beijing, the Chinese capital, is one of the first cities to take the tough, new measures. City police have recently detained 122 illegal cab operators with one of them being sentenced to one year and three months of supervised labor.

The city is estimated to have between 60,000 to 70,000 illegal cabs compared with 66,000 wholly legitimate vehicles.?

Hotlines and websites will be set up so citizens can report illegal cabs to the authorities. Rewards for information will be on offer. .

(China.org.cn, Xinhua News Agency May 30, 2006)