After all, the public was only requesting ParknShop reveal the beneficiaries of the donations received, while also being critical of the way the campaign was introduced. However, the store has been commended for its good intentions.

ParknShop should have taken the public criticism on board and made up for the way in which the campaign was introduced.

In fact, the wave of public criticism presented the supermarket chain with an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to environmental protection and its awareness of corporate social responsibilities.

It has, in effect, re-adopted a 'yes plastic bag' policy. It makes me wonder where we go from here.

We will be unable to advance in our efforts to save and revitalise our environment if some corporations so easily take offence when there is public criticism. Our corporations must learn to be more tolerant.

Now that we are back to square one, I just hope that the Product Eco-responsibility Bill can be enacted sooner to force these narrow-minded corporations to behave in a more adult manner.

H. C. Bee, Ho Man Tin

I agree that ParknShop should have stuck with its green campaign.

It was a very good idea. Although some plastic bags are biodegradable, they still need a long time to become completely decomposed.

The fact that 23 million plastic bags are used every day in this city shows that Hongkongers still do not have any sense about the importance of acting to protect our precious planet. The ParknShop campaign could have helped reduce the waste problem caused by plastic bags.

With people being charged 20 cents for every bag they got from the store, they could make a conscious decision to use fewer plastic bags.

The scrapping of this green initiative sends the wrong message. It may have given some people the impression that when similar projects are launched in Hong Kong in the future, they can be halted with just a little bit of criticism.

I am also concerned that other large companies will be put off implementing eco-friendly campaigns, because of the failure of this no plastic bag policy.

They will be able to use it as a good excuse not to meet their corporate social responsibilities. I really wish ParknShop had persevered with this good idea.

Eric Lai, Wong Tai Sin

Should local mothers be given priority for maternity services at private hospitals?

The growing influx of mainland women to give birth is using up much of the capacity in Hong Kong's private hospitals. This is forcing local mothers to use public wards.

As local pregnant women living here, they should be given priority for maternity services at our private hospitals. They have the right to be accepted first.

Hospitals may accept more mainland mothers because of the higher fees they pay. However, I do not think money should be the main concern. The more bookings hospitals accept from mainland mothers, the more of them will come to Hong Kong.

The shortage of maternity beds in private hospitals is putting local mothers under severe pressure and this has got to adversely affect their mental health.

Local mothers, as permanent residents of Hong Kong, must be given priority in private hospitals in Hong Kong.

So Wai-yan, Kwun Tong

If mainland mothers have easy access to Hong Kong's maternity services, this will be unfair to local mothers, who should have priority.

If people on the mainland think it is easy to get maternity services here, then there will be a rush to come to Hong Kong to give birth and the bed-shortage crisis will deepen.

Ken Tsang Yung-ho, Fanling

Because more maternity beds at private hospitals are being reserved for pregnant mainlanders, the maternity services cannot meet the demand of local mothers. However, local mothers should be given priority.

The government is always encouraging couples to have children. Nevertheless, the provision of maternity services to local mothers is inadequate. Given this state of affairs, how is it possible to persuade more couples to start a family? If the government does not tighten the regulations and control the number of mainlanders allowed into Hong Kong to give birth, the problem will only get worse and the birth rate will continue to fall in Hong Kong.

Wong Kwai-ching, Lam Tin

What do you think of the HSBC roof garden?

HSBC's rooftop garden in Mong Kok is amazing. If I was looking for work and I was offered two jobs, the fact that one of the workplaces had such a garden and the other did not would help me make my decision.

A roof garden is a comfortable place for staff to rest. It also enables them to communicate more, which is good for staff relations.

People have commented that it is good for Mong Kok because the air is so bad there. However, it is not only in Mong Kok that there is bad air pollution. Even in the district where I live, Yuen Long, which people think is just countryside, there is need for such facilities. Every part of the city where there is a lot of concrete could benefit from the construction of roof gardens.

HSBC has acted as a pioneer.

I hope this acts as an encouragement to other banks and large-scale companies. They will hopefully come to realise such projects improve the environment and the images of the companies that implement them.

Maybe it is expensive to launch such a project. However, if more firms start building these gardens we could see technological advances and costs could go down. Surely, it is worth taking part if it is another initiative aimed at helping us to save the planet.

Renee Poon Wing-sze, Yuen Long