These gentlemen and all Guangdong's and Hong Kong's citizens should say 'enough is enough' - enough diesel buses and enough coal-fired power, for a start. It is time for change.

Officials must stop fiddling around at the margins and admit we have passed the point of no return. Guangdong power firms have to do what CLP Power has done - spend the money needed to clean up their emissions. If they fail to do this they should be shut down. Bus companies must upgrade their fleets.

These two governments must recognise that their flight into prosperity carries a price, and it is one we cannot afford to pay.

I would like to see these leaders forcing companies to toe the line, even if their chief executives have helped to keep these two administrations in power. However, given the cosy relationships that exist, I suspect this will not happen.

Who is going to look after the interests of Hong Kong's residents? Certainly not our present leaders or the Environmental Protection Department. There is too much pollution, and this is not good enough. If our leaders cannot do something about this problem then they should step aside.

Jeremy Kidner, Central

Real-time data was missing

Can the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department please explain why its real-time, air-monitoring network data was withheld from the public from 11am on Monday? In fact, the data for Central/Western, as well as carbon monoxide concentrations at other stations, were totally absent.

I have noticed similar behaviour on previous occasions when air pollution hit high levels. Please do not give any excuses about equipment malfunction or inability to measure high pollutant levels.

It appears to me that political decisions have been made to hide data when it is such bad news, and to avoid bad statistics. This is not acceptable.

Peter A. Tanner, Tsuen Wan

Sandstorm, or just an excuse?

If the source of the current air pollution is a sandstorm from northern China, can someone explain why the hourly figures recorded by the Environmental Protection Department (online) showed a gradual rise at the Central and Causeway Bay roadside stations, starting before midnight, in contrast to the low early morning levels and dramatic rise at 4am seen at the general stations and the Mong Kok roadside station? Are we choking on north China sands or our own vehicle exhausts, trapped by the current weather?

Also, why did so many stations miss readings on Monday, with no readings at all for midday?

Allan Dyer, Wong Chuk Hang

Hastily applied 'greenwash'

I refer to the letter by C. K. Hon of the Civil Engineering and Development Department ('New road has helped to ease congestion', March 11), in response to my letter ('Lung Wo Road is just another monument to 'concrete coalition'', March 4).

Your correspondent said: 'When completed, road P2 [the current Lung Wo Road on the Central reclamation] will become a tree-lined boulevard'. I'll believe it when I see it. When it comes to road building the Transport Department is not renowned for its light touch.

More typical of its style is Salisbury Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, which resembles a cordon sanitaire. Government plans show that P2/Lung Wo Road will be even wider than it is today, culminating in a massive spaghetti junction outside the window of the Grand Hyatt coffee shop. Trees may be planted along the edges of P2, but it will not be a boulevard as the term is normally understood.

Mr Hon says that pedestrian crossings will 'facilitate convenient access to the new, vibrant, green and sustainable promenade' on the waterfront.

I should like him to explain what he means by a 'sustainable promenade'. The casual use of these feel-good terms illustrates the cock-eyed approach to the planning of this waterfront.

Instead of a properly designed master plan, we have an outline zoning plan (OZP), which the powers-that-be have resolutely refused to amend.

Stuck within this self-imposed constraint of an inappropriate OZP, the government had to resort to some hastily applied greenwash to respond to the public outcry. The result may turn out to be better than the usual hogwash, but it will not be the world-class waterfront that we should have had. Talk to any planner or architect in Hong Kong who is familiar with the site - they will tell you that it is a tragic missed opportunity.

Markus Shaw, founding member, Designing Hong Kong

Nothing to do with 'harmony'

The central government puts restraints on freedom of speech. It does not want its citizens to express their opinions on sensitive or controversial topics, including government policy.

The leadership argues that such criticism can create political instability.

I find this argument to be unsatisfactory. If there is a scandal, it does not want to see it exposed. When there is some bad news about the government and its performance, Beijing does not wish to see that publicised.

This refusal to listen to public opinion and suppress differing views means that the social problems on the mainland will persist. The central government must be more willing to listen to the views of its citizens and relax its tight censorship rules.

Herry Yiu , Sha Tin

Can't stand in the way of profit

I think that Mike Rowse ('Home wreckers', March 9) and fellow former senior civil servant Regina Ip ('Riding roughshod over property rights', March 7) see the present government's position very clearly.

Your correspondent Jimmy Chow makes a good point ('Lowering threshold for consent will help sellers and developers', March 15). But the new rule [lowering the compulsory sale threshold for older buildings from 90 to 80 per cent] impinges on the rights of property owners, who are law-abiding citizens.

These are people who want to stay in their own homes in their neighbourhood, and do not fancy being evicted because an opportunistic developer sees a potential for profit.

In criticising Mr Rowse's suggestion of 'a flat for a flat', Mr Chow apparently thinks that the normal market mechanisms should be suspended when individuals threaten to share the developers' windfall.

That would never do, as it is an unwritten rule that Hong Kong property developers must make profits that are unheard of in any normal business.

Charlie Chan, Mid-Levels

Stop narcotics road menace

I does not surprise me when I read reports about pupils taking illegal drugs in schools, discos and even at home. However, it does surprise me to read about the rising incidence of drug abuse among drivers.

It is so inconsiderate for people to do that.

Do they not realise that they are putting their own lives and the lives of others at risk?

Do they not think about the families of those individuals who die in a road accident they have caused because they were under the influence? Motorists should pay full attention to the importance of road safety, but these individuals are failing to do that. They must be made to appreciate the consequences of their actions.

I realise that people need to find ways to relax and relieve the pressure they are under.

However, taking illegal drugs is not the right way to go about relaxing.

For many people who become addicted, they learn the lesson too late in life and their health is ruined.

The authorities have to take action. The police could deploy more officers to monitor this problem. Also, more talks should be organised for drivers to try to get across the message that they should not take drugs and then get behind the wheel of a car.

Jack Leung, Kwai Chung

Horrified by blood protest

The dispute between the government of Thailand and its opponents has escalated.

The protesters, who want the administration to stand down, poured blood under the gates of the government headquarters in Bangkok last week (''Red shirts' deliver their bloody message', March 17). They also targeted the residential compound of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, again using blood to make their point.

I was shocked when I witnessed this form of protest. Apart from anything else, this seemed like a waste of human blood. It was collected from the protesters. It could have been put to much better use if these individuals had donated their blood to the country's blood transfusion service.

In some parts of the country supplies of blood are insufficient. If they had donated the blood in this way they could have been saving lives.

Whatever they believe, I think with this blood protest the red-shirted demonstrators went too far. They should be allowed to express their views, but they must do so in a reasonable manner. They should think about the consequences of their actions.

Jenny Lee, Kwun Tong