Being an NPC delegate only takes you so far . . .
Executive Councillor Cheng Yiu-tong was one of the victims in the recent oil shortage in Guangdong. The National People's Congress delegate said he experienced a hectic three-hour search for fuel in Guangzhou on Tuesday for his drive back to Hong Kong.
'There was a long queue at every gas station. And each driver was only allowed to buy just 20 yuan of gas, which is just about five litres,' he said. 'I had to drive nearly 200km back to town. This meant I only had enough gas to go up to the highway.'
In a desperate move, he showed his NPC badge to gas station staff to try to get more fuel, the first time ever he had tried to use his status on the mainland. 'But the man in front of me in the gas station was a police officer and he only got 30 yuan of gas!'
Despite showing his card, he just got the 20 yuan worth of gas available to ordinary members of the public. 'Luckily I found a Caltex fuel station on the highway and it allowed me to fill up with 100 yuan of gas, which was just enough for me to come back.'
He concluded: 'It was a good sign after all, as nobody was getting any political privilege.'
