Entitled to meet friends and have fun
I am enraged by what Sam Chulani proposed in his letter headlined, 'Must clean up Central' (South China Morning Post, July 8), to drive the Filipino community out of Central on Sundays.
That someone should come up with crazy ideas, such as prohibiting squatting and eating in public areas, to deliberately discriminate against what has become an integral part of our community, is a tragedy for Hong Kong.
The Filipino maids have been providing an invaluable service to Hong Kong. Like us, they would like to meet friends and have fun.
However, unlike some of us who can afford to go to places further away and eat at fancy restaurants, having 'picnics' in Central on Sundays is a convenient and inexpensive way for them to enjoy themselves.
By proposing measures to drive them out of Central, Mr Chulani is trying to discriminate against a part of our community because of their social class or race. This will not give tourists a clean image of Hong Kong, as he expected, but rather a bad reputation.
For the more affluent members of our society who want to take a quiet stroll around Statue Square and Chater Garden on Sundays, may I suggest they try some other parks and give the Filipinos a break? N. CHUNG Kowloon It seems to have taken Sam Chulani (Post, July 8) a mere 28 years to notice that Central is full of hard-working people enjoying a well-deserved day off each Sunday.
If he finds this inconvenient or distressing, perhaps he might care to put his obviously considerable powers of observation to work and suggest an alternative gathering place? JOHN FUERY Ap Lei Chau
