Ordinary Gweilo

The tunnel story refuses to go away.  Today’s SCMP reports that activists have a plan – to sue the government so that the private company that operates the Eastern Harbour Tunnel has to reduce the toll.

Announcing their application for a judicial review yesterday, Wong Tai Sin District Councillor Andrew To Kwan-hang and taxi driver Chan Yu-nam said they would apply for an order "to compel the government to take reasonable steps to vary the toll".

Mr Chan hoped the application would help ease taxi drivers’ immediate financial burden and has applied for legal aid to fund his case.

"The economy is not really doing well. I’m trying to use a legal means to reduce the toll, in a hope that business will be better for taxi drivers," Mr Chan said.

The economy is not doing well.  Really?  Everywhere I go I see evidence that owners of commercial and retail property are upgrading, renovating and increasing rents (and we’ve recently had stories about M&S, HMV, and now Chris Patten’s favourite egg tart shop being forced out).  Property prices are also on the up, and we know how that drives the Hong Kong economy. 

In support of the pair, two finance experts – Francis Lui Ting-ming of the University of Science and Technology and Lam Pun-lee of Polytechnic University – have agreed to serve as witnesses if the High Court accepts the case.

This is the same "finance expert" who seems to have no idea how much it costs to run a car.

Independent legislator Albert Chan Wai-yip, who is assisting the pair, admitted a judicial review over the toll would be complicated.

"It would be extremely difficult because there is no precedent that we can find in Hong Kong – a judicial review on arbitration is very rare.

"Most people think the toll increase and the profits the tunnel operator generated are unreasonable. If there is paramount public interest at stake, I hope the court will take that into consideration and accept the application.

Well, I’m not a lawyer, but courts are not really about "public interest", they are about upholding the law, and in this case it seems clear that the tunnel company are entitled to increase the tolls.

Politicians and lawyers – that’s just what we need to solve the problem.