Improving Hong Kong's environment is the chief executive's 'top priority' - a point Donald Tsang Yam-kuen stressed at a regional forum held on the mainland on April 12. Mr Tsang acknowledged that 'providing a clean and green environment is vital' if Hong Kong is to compete for talent and brainpower, retain homegrown human capital and develop the city's services sector. He noted that Hong Kong and Guangdong now share the same vision to 'become the cleanest, greenest region in China'.
It is encouraging to hear such ringing words from the chief executive but, from what else Mr Tsang has said, it appears his environmental vision is, in fact, relatively narrow. If his utterances on other high-profile occasions are any sign, he has blind spots that prevent him from taking broader and more urgent action.
Mr Tsang has said repeatedly that the high life expectancy of Hong Kong people - among the highest in the world - must be due to good environmental conditions here. Ministers and senior officials have been heard to offer a similar defence of poor air quality. They need to be disabused from continuing to mislead. One can only assume that Mr Tsang has been poorly advised.
High life expectancy is mainly driven by employment and income. Air pollution would be unlikely to reverse our overall life expectancy trends, but it would certainly slow the progression of gains in longevity. A reversal of life expectancy trends would have to be associated with very large numbers of deaths associated with a catastrophic breakdown of social structures, or war, famine or widespread fatal infectious disease. Hong Kong's high life expectancy is also attributable to our very low infant mortality rate and good maternal and child health services.
In polluted environments, many more people become sick for longer periods. Delays in cleaning up the air cause large-scale harm to people's health-related quality of life. People are ill more often, resulting in more hospital admissions, and time off school and work. Pollution affects not only people with existing heart and lung problems or diabetes, but also otherwise healthy individuals.
The frequency of chronic coughs and wheezing among local people, including our children, is indicative of our air quality problem.
Mr Tsang should be briefed by his health officers in no uncertain terms that many children growing up in dirty air risk developing lung ailments at an early age that can impair their health for the rest of their lives.