This is no way to win public sympathy

Some years ago in Hong Kong, I foolishly got involved in a heated argument with a taxi driver who complained incessantly about the traffic. All I did was to tell him to shut up. That set him off on a long tirade on life in general, and rude passengers in particular. As I was getting off his taxi, he turned around and said, in rough Cantonese, "you should never pick a fight with a taxi driver. We're the tough guys."

They tried to show their color last week when a group of drivers blocked the roads leading from the airport in protest against some supposedly minor changes in the fare structure. As the police moved in to clear the roads by towing away the taxis, another group of drivers used their cars to block the roads as a big crowd was leaving the Happy Valley racecourse after the races.

This incident has got nothing to do with being tough.