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Debbie Mason

He Suli has won numerous awards for her outstanding service as a taxi driver in Beijing, including 'Top Ten Capital Taxi Hero'. A Communist Party member, the 49-year-old even gives pensioners and students rides for free during the university entrance exam period. She has been picked by Olympic sponsor Samsung to be one of the Olympic flame torch-bearers.
How many hours do you work?

Twelve hours a day, seven days a week. My husband shares the car and drives the other 12 hours.

Why do you work so hard?

I enjoy it. It gives me freedom, there's no one telling me what to do with my time.

Is it ever dangerous? How do you deal with drunks, for example?

It can be, but not often. Sometimes I get a drunk person in the car who falls asleep, and when I wake them up just before we get to where they want to go, they wake up all confused and don't know where they are. It's very amusing. Sometimes they don't have the money to pay for their fare. 


I often ring up the traffic radio station and tell them about the road situation - and people send letters to them and tell them about me. I have been on the radio several times.

So you're quite famous then?

In the taxi driver circles a few people know me, yes.

Why do you give students rides for free?

Because they are our country's future. They also don't have much money.

You don't earn much money either!

Of course there's an impact on my income, but it's only two days of the year, and they are important.

Why have you been chosen to be one of Samsung's torch-bearers?

I was queuing up to get petrol one day and happened to read in a free newspaper that they were looking for torch-bearers, so my son registered me online. And I was picked! I was very happy.

Where and when will you carry the torch?

In Daqing, Heilongjiang province, on July 15.

Does the recent earthquake in Sichuan make the Olympics even more important for China?

Yes, I think the Olympics can almost become a kind of tribute to the people who died and suffered. The way the government responded to the situation also showed our solidarity and how capable we are of dealing with this sort of thing, and with helping the people. We must do whatever we can to help these people out of hardship.

The Olympics are about sports, too. Do you like sports?

Very much. I practise martial arts every day.

Do you feel you represent Beijing taxi drivers?

I would like to think so, yes. We give tourists to Beijing the first impression of our city, so it should be a good one. The first impression is really important.





He Suli