The slaughter of chickens because of bird flu saddens Wong Cho-kwong, 40, but he can't see any other way to protect the city
I feel sorry about the slaughter of chickens but I don't think we can blame the government for doing that. If they carry the deadly H5N1 disease we have to do all we can to get rid of them, and it seems killing them all is the safest way to do so.
Some people say the government is overreacting and being cold-blooded, and that even if a chicken is infected, it is safe to eat when it is completely cooked. But who knows what will happen when someone kills the chicken and prepares it when it is still raw? We have no choice. If we act only after things happen, it will be too late.
The government has become a lot more cautious about health issues since Sars and this is only fair. We did not choose to kill the chickens; the disease caused us to kill them.
The chicken farmers are the most unlucky because their efforts are wasted, but they receive some sort of compensation from the government. But how about us drivers? Life is simply difficult these days because of the crazy increase in fuel prices, and also inflation in almost everything.
We taxi drivers are paying 40 per cent more for fuel compared with one year ago, and for us who don't own our own taxi, we have to pay HK$500 in rent for taxi a day, and maybe HK$250 for fuel. And these days, not many people take taxis. So many of us can only manage to cover the costs and make a very, very meagre living.
But if you ask me whether I will quit driving a taxi, then the answer is no, just like my friends. We have been trained to drive for more than 10 years and we don't have much education. There is no way out, unless the government helps us drivers by reducing fuel taxes. We are talking about the livelihood of thousands of drivers and their families.