The Desperation of an Angry and Troubled "Olympic Host" -- Angry
scenes at China’s petrol pumps

Angry scenes at China’s petrol pumps

Chinese motorists, knowing the price of petrol was about to jump,
queued
for hours at a gas station only to be told they could not be served
until the price rise took effect, prompting angry scenes on the
forecourt.

Word spread fast by phone and SMS after news of the price rise leaked
out and soon motorists from around China’s financial hub were heading
to
gas stations to fill their tanks.

Police were mobilised in Shanghai and government officials stood by at
gas stations in Beijing, host of the Summer Olympics in just 49 days,
to
ward off any trouble from irate drivers.

At least one station told customers that it would shut for repairs
until
the price hike took effect at midnight, prompting an altercation
between
staff and angry motorists.

”You guys make a huge profit and get high prices. We consumers are
pitiful,” said a Shanghainese waiting to fill his Volkswagen Santana.

Prices for gasoline and diesel fuel rose unexpectedly by 1,000 yuan
($145) per tonne each effective from midnight on Thursday (1600 GMT).
Beijing pledged subsidies to farmers and low-income families and taxi
drivers to cushion the crunch.

”It’s crazy,” said another Shanghai man driving a Passat. ”Inflation
is
becoming serious and harming my ordinary life -- I won’t be able to
stand it for long if prices continue to rise.”

Most analysts had expected Beijing to hold out until after the
Olympics
in August as policymakers are anxious to avoid any hint of social
unrest.

”I am wondering whether I need to forget my new car and take the
subway
to work as the cost of driving is too high,” Zhu Hong, 28, who bought
her car just two months ago, said.

The 16.7 percent increase in gasoline takes the pump rate to about 75
U.S. cents a litre, still a quarter cheaper than in the United States
and about one-third what British motorists pay. Prices have doubled
since 2003, but crude has more than quadrupled.

Taxi drivers were sceptical that promised subsidies would cover higher
fuel costs.

”The subsidies are only symbolic. I guess they would increase the
subsidy by 50 or 60 yuan (per month) after the hike,” said Ding
Shigen,
a Beijing taxi driver for 15 years, who estimated his fuel bill would
increase by over 1,000 yuan ($145) a month.

Beijing drivers will also be forced to leave their cars home on
alternate days from July 20 to help ease congestion and reduce
pollution
during the Olympics and Paralympics.

Those affected by the odd-even number plate restrictions will not have
to pay road or vehicle taxes for three months, a spokesman said on the
city’s official website.

Though unpopular with drivers, the petrol price hike would not spark
social unrest ahead of the Olympics, mused one Beijing businessman
surnamed Xu as he wiped his dusty van down with a cloth.

”Common people don’t have cars. They’ll welcome the decision as it
hurts
the rich,” Xu said.

Analysts also ruled out the possibility of unrest even though
inflation
was a key factor behind the 1989 demonstrations centred on Beijing’s
Tiananmen Square.

”People are more able to tolerate price rises today than they were in
1989,” Liu Xubuo, a dissident writer, said. ”There won’t be chaos.”

Beijing taxi driver Fang Jinguan said there was no choice but to be
philosophical.

”Whether you are willing to accept it or not, you have to accept it,”
he
said. ”The government is much stronger than its people.”

(c) Reuters Limited