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Q Should the Stubbs Road mansion be declared a monument?

This historical gem of a mansion captures all that is Hong Kong - the past, present and future. It sits proudly alone on a hill slope - a fine example of an era when excellent architecture, design and construction mattered. To even think of demolishing and replacing it with yet more poorly constructed, leaking and cramped housing is a reflection of continued urban, social and cultural decay in the city. Not declaring it a monument is unthinkable!

S. Fong, Tai Tam

Why not relocate this structure the same way as was done with Murray House? The cost involved would be substantial, but according to my understanding, the moving cost of Murray House to Stanley is gradually being recovered by the rental income of the various restaurants successfully operating there.

The Stubbs Road mansion could, for example, be moved to Sai Kung and rebuilt close to the Beach Hotel, which is to be renovated. Once rebuilt, it could be partly used as a typical old-style Chinese theme restaurant.

It could be used as function rooms for conferences, seminars and wedding receptions or as a museum equipped with furniture and items dating from that period. I am quite positive that this project would become a commercial success.

Hannes Lanz, Tai Mong Tsai

Modernisation and progress do not have to mean erasing our traditions and roots. England is a country where people espouse modernism and yet they have managed to preserve great old English architecture through strict regulations on heritage buildings. The preservation of these old buildings is one factor making England a popular destination for tourists.

Heritage preservation is not just about sentimentality. It adds to the commercial value of a country through tourism. People like to visit places where there are interesting cultural sights to see, beyond tall skyscrapers and neon signs of luxury brands. Hong Kong can only be a 'City of Life' for so long.

One wonders why Hong Kong, a place with such a rich heritage of Chinese culture and tradition, does not have a well-established and strictly enforced policy on heritage preservation. More importantly, why have we not adopted the British approach to heritage conservation after being a colony for many years?

Name and address supplied

I am a local Chinese, raised, educated and now working and living in Hong Kong. I lived in Paris from 1985 to 1997, and so had a chance to appreciate the value and charm of historical buildings and monuments. The fact that the Hong Kong government (pre- and post-1997) has not bothered to preserve any of our old buildings is appalling and shameful.

Every place has its own history and by preserving old buildings and monuments, it helps to reinforce the identity of oneself. We don't care about the city we live in, destroying buildings and monuments that we will never be able to retrieve. We can make wrong judgments but not repeatedly.

Elaine Chung, Central

Q What are your ideas to make Stanley more appealing to tourists?

What are the Legislative Council's ideas to make Stanley more appealing to tourists? Take a successful and charming tourist area, pour loads of concrete, add restaurants of dubious quality, throw out a local soccer field and wet market, add dozens more tourist coaches, knock down several interesting buildings - sounds like a recipe for disaster. I hope the residents of the Stanley area fight this one tooth and nail. Keep politicians out of the decision-making process here and let the locals ask for what they need.

Anne Epstein, Pokfulam

How do we make Stanley more appealing to tourists? Which tourists are we talking about, the ones that go there or the ones that don't? It doesn't take a great intellect to work out that those who go there probably like it as it is, and will probably stop going if anything resembling the monstrosity that is planned for development there.

So how do we cater for those who don't go to Stanley at present but would if the monstrosity was built?

Easy - we build it, but somewhere else. Let's build lots of them, one in the front garden of every Legco member who backed the scheme, provided that not one of them can be seen from Stanley, Sai Kung or Tai Mong Tsai.

Peter Robertson, Tai Mong Tsai

Q Should the government step up regulation of diving instructors?

I write in response to your article regarding the perils of maverick operators. The problem is not unique to Hong Kong - it is in fact a global problem.

I live in South Africa, where I started diving 10 years ago, and have since dived in many places including Zanzibar, Mozambique, East Africa and Australia. In each of these places I found a similar problem - too many 'dive schools' competing for the same business and offering cut-rate courses which young, not so wealthy would-be divers snap up eagerly.

These operators are not able to make a living from such an operation and rely on possibly selling the students diving equipment. This becomes their main concern as opposed to actually teaching the students to become safe, competent divers able to handle difficult situations.

The government should exercise some form of control on both the quality of the training offered and the safety standards.

Brian Rowe, South Africa

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