Oh, I 8 One, Too.

It's hardly "How's My Driving?" or "My Kid Is An Honor Student...Yours Sucks." It might be a step up from American vanity plates which sometimes can be entertaining, but paying $10,000 for a license plate for the new 'Benz? Or even for your run-of-the-mill Chinese roadster which will set you back about $4,000. It's become a cultural phenomenon in China, a country where the per capita income is about $1,000. The average farmer makes about $350 a year so you can see what I mean. The gap between a burgeoning upper class and the rest of Chinese society is a huge one. In 2003, for example, a woman ran down and killed a peasant simply because he had dared to accidentally scratch her Mercedes with his vegetable cart. (A word to the wise, here: don't go to Harbin, China. She may still be out there gunning for other pedestrians). So why the horrendous license fees? It's all about the numbers.
In China, the number 8 is considered to be the most lucky number of all while the number 4 can mean impending death. "Ba" the word for the number 8 rhymes with "fa" which is the Chinese word for wealth. In contrast, "si" the number 4 means death. Some parents refuse to let their children ride in a cab whose plate has a number 4 on it when the students are going to take their college entrance tests...sure, but have they been chugging Red Bull while pulling an all-nighter for the test?
Anyhow, in a country where 100,000 people die annually from traffic accidents, I suppose the drivers feel they need all the good fortune they can get. It started simply enough, I guess, as people began bribing public officials to get the right numbered plate. This cottage industry did not benefit enough government officials so an auction was set up at which playas could bid on their desired plate. Ironically, it is reported that proceeds of the auction now go to the treatment of those crunched in auto accidnets!
A regional airline recently bid $300,000 to secure the rights to a phone number of 8888-8888. A woman spent $2,900 recently for a "lucky" plate because all her friends had one. I think we're wasting our time negotiating arms deals and worrying about child labor in such places because our way of life has already begun to wear them down. Send'em reality TV starring the Hulkster or Paris Hilton...we'd have them begging us for the rights within days.
Of course, there are traditionalists who see this as a negative. Zhao Shu, chairman of the China Folk Art and Literature Association says that this license plate business is a sign of a "superficial culture...bragging by the new rich." See? We've got 'em now!
You might be questioning my logic here, but how else can you explain that the Beijing Olympic games are scheduled to begin on July the 8th of '08 at 8 p.m.? That's 8/8/08@8. I wonder how much I could get for a Yogi Berra jersey?