Always got on with expatriates
There are a number of unfair and misleading remarks on me in Danny Gittings' 'From the Gallery' column of June 17. They give readers an incorrect impression of my attitude towards expatriates in Hong Kong.
In my 36 years of working in the engineering profession, including 10 years in the UK, I have always worked closely and harmoniously with expatriate engineers.
I fully believe that Hong Kong has long established itself as a truly international city and one of our strengths is that we have a long history of having people from different countries with different cultural backgrounds working together amicably. We are able to complement one another to the benefit and in the best interests of the community.
Even in the case of our civil service, I often stress that we should retain a certain percentage of expatriates as this will give us the best international image.
Referring to other points made by Mr Gittings, I would briefly respond that I have never had an anti-foreigner campaign. What I have been asking for is 'equal opportunities and fair competition for all'.
Like most professionals, I cannot agree with Mr Gittings that 'technology transfer' is usually heard in developing countries. He goes further suggesting that Hong Kong is rich enough to buy its own technology.
In fact, we have been doing so for a long time and are still relying on buying without grooming our own technology. And it is the reason why I have been vocal in promoting technology transfer.
Dr RAYMOND HO CHUNG-TAI Legislative Councillor
