Canada’s ambassador to China, David Mulroney, is whisked around the streets of Beijing in his official government car, a Toyota Camry that cost less than $30,000. Hardly any news there. The Camry is a relatively modest vehicle and was purchased and is operated entirely within the federal government’s “Fleet Management Directive”.
But when Mulroney blogged about the car he is assigned, it sparked a wave of reaction from Chinese readers, garnering more than 1,000 comments and more than 3,000 ‘shares.’ Why the interest? Canada’s modesty when it comes to official vehicles is being compared to the gross immodesty of Chinese government officials. And China’s citizenry are angry. Continue reading Canada in the middle of Chinese anger over luxury cars for officials