Senior managers at Shanghai's private express delivery firms will lobby the government for "fairness" as they fear the latest draft for a new Post Law will bankrupt their businesses.

The latest draft, written by China Post, allows the state-backed firm to monopolize express delivery of all mail and goods lighter than 350 grams.

Previous drafts allowed private firms to handle deliveries under 350 grams as long as it was not personal mail.

The new draft prevents private firms from delivering air tickets, business contracts, customs clearance papers, greeting cards among other items. Those items account for at least 70 percent of the current business, said Liu Heping, vice general manager of Shanghai East Union Express Co, one of the city's biggest private delivery firms.

Liu and his counterparts at Shanghai STO Express Co and Shanghai Tiantian Express Co, are major players in the industry. They plan to go to Beijing next week to meet officials with the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission and other government authorities on behalf of Shanghai's 6,000 private express delivery firms.

The draft is expected to be examined by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in March.

"We will all die if the law is passed based on the current draft," Liu said. "We are trying to inform People's Congress representatives of the situation in the hope of having a say in the process."

He said more than 100,000 delivery men will lose their jobs in Shanghai if the law is passed. Private couriers delivered over 90 million pieces of mail or goods last year, about 95 percent of mail within Shanghai and 70 percent to other provinces or regions.

(Shanghai Daily February 8, 2006)