Hong Kong Protests: Taxi driver: Losing money every day since protests began

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It's been two months since protests started in Hong Kong, and local taxi drivers are complaining that the unrest has led to a sharp drop in their incomes. CGTN's He Weiwei visits one of them and has this story.

NG CHUNG-WAI HONG KONG TAXI DRIVER "I've been a taxi driver for about 18 years, but I've never seen HK like this before."

Driver Ng Chungwai works 12 hours a day. Since the protests broke out in Hong Kong, his income has been shrinking.

NG CHUNG-WAI HONG KONG TAXI DRIVER "I used to earn 800 (HK) dollars per day, but now only 500 (HK dollars). Last month, our business dropped by 40%."

On the day we met Ng Chung wai, a rally was held by opposition groups, with hundreds of thousands of people in the streets, paralyzing traffic.

HE WEIWEI HONG KONG "We're on our way to the hotel, but it seems that we've got stuck here- people are marching on the streets, and some roads got blocked. The taxi driver told me just now that something like this happens very often since June, and the taxi's business got very much affected."

NG CHUNG-WAI HONG KONG TAXI DRIVER "I'm losing money every day, and every month. We're scared to go to the protest places, we're afraid."

And this is not an isolated case. There are 18 thousand taxis in HK and 60 thousand taxi drivers. Their difficulty in navigating around the unrest is compounded by a shortage of customers. Official data show global tourism to Hong Kong has dropped 30% since July. A local association of taxi drivers expressed concern.

WONG TAI-HOI, SECRETARY GENERAL HONG KONG TAXI DRIVERS & OPERATORS ASSOCIATION "We've received over three thousand complaints from drivers within just the last month, demanding we clearly state to the government that we oppose violence, we want rioters to face strict law enforcement, we want peace."

Nobody knows how long the current situation will last, or how much money taxi drivers will ultimately lose. HWW, CGTN, HK.