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Rise in charges unfair to customers

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Hong Kong's two million telephone users have Richard Li to thank for giving them a good start to the New Year - a more than 20 per cent increase in their phone bills.

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The announcement was cunningly timed on a Friday (December 22), on the eve of the Christmas holiday period, so that people would quickly forget among their merry-making.

However, thanks to some civic-minded citizens and groups, the long weekend did not deter them from holding two protest marches. And rightfully so.

Pacific Century CyberWorks-HKT's excuse is that it was given approval by the Government to put up rates some time ago and it was doing the public a favour by delaying the increase.

What the company did not say was that if operations were still in the hands of the profitable Cable & Wireless HKT, an increase would not be necessary.

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But having borrowed so much to take over the company, PCCW is in debt. The $600 million it will earn from the rise in charges will go a long way towards helping it pay off its loans. The public is being made to pay for PCCW-HKT's purchases in the form of much higher fees. This is unfair, especially when it has a near monopoly.

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