China has launched a nationwide campaign to stamp out illegal taxis that will see serious offenders be sentenced to a period of supervised labor.

The campaign will be jointly pursued by the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Public Security and four other central government departments and will last from May to November, according to the Ministry of Construction.

The campaign will target illegal cabs without licenses or using forged licenses, criminal gangs operating cabs, as well as civil servants providing protection to illegal operators.

Many Chinese cities have a large number of illegal cabs. They are particularly popular in areas not served by the public transportation system and they are cheaper than legal cabs as they don't pay any taxes.

There are constant reports of illegal cab drivers involved in cheating and blackmail, but the lack of official records make it hard for law enforcement agencies to trace them.

Chinese capital Beijing is one of the first cities to take the tough measures. Its police have recently detained 122 illegal cab operators with one of them 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 to 66,000 legitimate cabs.

Hotlines and websites will be set up so that citizens could report illegal cabs to authorities with rewards on offer.

(China Daily May 30, 2006)