Ending road-use charge shows respect for public opinion

THE GOVERNMENT IN ZHANGBEI COUNTY, North China's Hebei province, announced on Friday that it will stop collecting the 50-yuan ($7.60) charge per person it had introduced to use a 150-kilometer scenic road. Beijing News commented on Saturday:

The Zhangbei government's latest decision, of course, is laudable and in line with the public outcry at the introduction of the fee. In fact, it was made after public criticism of the charge went viral on the internet, which mainly questioned the local pricing authority's designation of the public road as a scenic site that people had to pay to enter.

Admittedly, as the poverty-stricken county explained, the charge was introduced to cover the costs of cleaning and infrastructure construction and to better protect the environment. But the sharp decline in tourists following the introduction of the charge shows that tourists are voting with their feet on the charge imposed by the local government.