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This is no way to win public sympathy

By Hong Liang (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-09 07:45

Some years ago in Hong Kong, I foolishly got involved in a heated argument with a taxi driver who complained incessantly about the traffic. All I did was to tell him to shut up. That set him off on a long tirade on life in general, and rude passengers in particular. As I was getting off his taxi, he turned around and said, in rough Cantonese, "you should never pick a fight with a taxi driver. We're the tough guys."

They tried to show their color last week when a group of drivers blocked the roads leading from the airport in protest against some supposedly minor changes in the fare structure. As the police moved in to clear the roads by towing away the taxis, another group of drivers used their cars to block the roads as a big crowd was leaving the Happy Valley racecourse after the races.

This incident has got nothing to do with being tough.

The local media has politely labeled it as a strike. I disagree.

This was an irresponsible, and possibly illegal, act of defiance by a group of disgruntled taxi drivers at the expense of public interest.

Hong Kong people take great pride in their tolerant society. We accept and defend the right of people to express their grievances, real or imagined, in public demonstrations. Although public demonstrations can, and will, have the consequence of causing public inconvenience, we can understand and are willing to bear with it.

What we will not tolerate is a deliberate attempt by demonstrators to make a point by causing public inconvenience. Blocking the roads to the airport with taxis was neither a strike nor a peaceful demonstration. It was obviously staged with the intent to inconvenience the public.

And, of course, there was the point of legality. I personally don't agree that as responsible citizens, we should need to ask the police for permission to demonstrate on our streets. But since such a request has been written into law, we must comply. Although this point was generally ignored in media reports of the demonstration by cabbies, I don't believe that the police would have permitted such an anti-social act.

Taxi drivers, as a group, are not really the best-liked people in Hong Kong. Most of us have horror stories to tell about our experiences with taxis although we keep reminding ourselves that the bad drivers are definitely in the minority. Blocking traffic to make a point will accomplish little but hardening the public's mind against taxi drivers.

They must understand that their action is different from a strike. They were actively preventing other drivers from using the roads.

In normal times, we would most probably laugh this off as simply an immature act of letting off steam by some juveniles. But these are not normal times. Hong Kong is facing what many economists consider the most severe economic challenge since the outbreak of the Asian financial crisis in 1997.

Many employers, especially those in the catering and retail sectors, have already begun taking drastic measures to trim costs. Some of them are laying off workers while others are cutting workers' salaries and benefits. Against such a dismal backdrop, it is fair to expect that there will be an increase in workers' demonstrations to make an open display of their discontent in public.

They have the right to do so. But if the goal is to win public sympathy and support, our workers will have to adopt a much more tactful approach than blocking roads.

E-mail: jamesleung@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 12/09/2008 page8)