Riots, strikes, protests: How Hong Kong's taxi trade puts the brakes on changes it doesn’t like
From riots to juggling multiple smartphones on the go, our cabbies are a driving force in the city
From sparking a night of rioting, bashing the "discount gangs", calling for fare rises and freewheeling between driving and managing numerous smartphones while touting for business, the city's taxi drivers can be stunningly vociferous and aggressive in fighting their corner whenever conflicts arise.
The arrest on Tuesday of five drivers in connection with unlicensed transport services, operated by online car-hire giant Uber, highlights the strength of the local taxi trade, which the government has rarely ignored because of its destructive power to paralyse the city's traffic.
The crackdown came amid mounting pressure from the powerful taxi lobby, which criticised the government for failing to curb cab-hailing apps as well as unlicensed car hire they say have seriously hurt their business.
In fact, when it comes to protecting its own interests, the taxi trade, composed of 18,138 taxis handling up to 970,000 passenger trips per day, is no stranger to protests and never afraid of treading on thin ice.
The infamous example is a two-day taxi strike which started on January 12, 1984, triggered by a government plan to increase first registration tax from 4 to 90 per cent. The night after the rise was announced with immediate effect, hundreds of taxi drivers organised a go-slow protest and set up roadblocks on major highways, grinding the city to a standstill. Within hours, more main roads in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island were blocked by thousands of taxi drivers.
The deadlock lasted two nights until gangsters took advantage of the strike and started to riot and loot shops in Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei. Police used tear gas and batons to break up looting, arson and other vandalism by thousands of people, leading to 150 arrests.