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SCMP Reporter

Odd-even car-plate limits could ease Aberdeen tunnel snarls
I live in the Southern district of Hong Kong Island. Every day, when the residents in this district  commute to other parts of Hong Kong they most likely have to pass through the Aberdeen tunnel.  
However, the tunnel is crowded with buses, vans and private vehicles all the time.  The traffic jams are compounded when there is a car accident on the way to the tunnel.  This has quite an impact on our daily life as we have to spend  up to one hour  stuck on the road.   
In the short term, the government should consider limiting private vehicles on the road  during certain peak periods. Odd-even car-plate number restrictions are a good way  to prevent too many private vehicles running on the road at the same time.  Newly purchased private vehicles should also be subject to higher taxes.  
 The MTR must also play a pivotal role in easing pressure on overloaded roads. I  support the MTR's construction  of the Island South line and would like to call  greater progress on a fast  and effective transport  system to other parts of Hong Kong. 
Alex Yeung, Aberdeen
Time for ICAC probe into fung shui payouts
If the details of HK$72 million spent on  fung shui compensation in works projects over a decade  cannot be unveiled to the public, I  think the Independent Commission Against Corruption should be involved to press for clarity. 
Not everyone believes in fung shui, but as far as I understand, it is all about directions and timing of days and months and years that can be written down for people to easily understand. It is part of a science in the realm of architecture. 
I  would not be surprised if fung shui advice on how construction work can protect a village's environmental advantages  costs millions of dollars. 
But it is not difficult to  explain through calculations and in a few site drawings. 
We would all be happy to be told if there was an ancient fung shui master who could improve and reduce the number of hazy days in Hong Kong. 
Pang Chi-ming, Fanling
Balancing coverage of India's ethnic disputes
Referring to two articles published in the November 28 issue of the Sunday Morning Post ('Will India's Chinese finally get justice', 'Kashmiri rapper sings of freedom from India'), I would like to inquire about the anti-India slant of these articles. While I do not refute the facts that refer to the treatment of Kashmiri Muslims and ethnic Chinese in India, the authors should present a more holistic picture of these long-standing disputes. With respect to Kashmir, if the author is going to discuss human rights abuses he needs to also refer to the displacement of Kashmiri (Hindu) Pandits who have become refugees in their own land and attacks by extremist groups on other minorities, such as the Sikh and Christian communities in the state. 
Furthermore, if one is going to discuss the impact on civilians by actions of the state, then the oppression of the indigenous population of Pakistan-administered Kashmir should also be noted. With respect to the article on the mistreatment of ethnic Chinese in India, the author should also consider the treatment of Indians in the border areas of China. If journalists are able to report on human rights abuses in India, it is because of the right to information, freedom of the press and transparency enshrined in the country's constitution (despite sporadic imperfections in practice). It would be prudent  consider these factors  for more balanced coverage of India and  South Asia.  
Chietigj Bajpaee, Tai Tam
Keep dogs out of the city's built-up zones
Irrespective of the recent actions of the Bowen Road dog poisoner, ('Dog poisoner returns to haunt Bowen Road', December 3) I'd like to make the point that dogs should not be allowed as pets in Hong Kong's built-up areas. 
Although most owners, or to be more precise most owners' helpers, are considerate enough to remove faeces deposited on pavements and walkways, often the urine is left simply to evaporate in the sun. 
During the dry season, many pathways, particularly at corners where male dogs often mark their territory, can be quite disgusting. 
Dog owners should be restricted to the semi-rural areas in the northern New Territories and Outlying Islands. 
 If this were the case, the impact of their animals would not be so great. 
Jason Ali, Sheung WanIn search of Fanling Good Samaritans
I would like to  express my thanks to the Good Samaritans who could have saved me on Sunday, November 21, at Fanling.  
I  suffer from epilepsy  and was I travelling alone  on a green line minibus from Fanling Rail Station that afternoon. The minibus arrived at the Lung Yeuk Tau  terminus and I tried to get off but found that I could not move a finger. I was perfectly conscious  and could hear passengers getting off the bus. I  wanted to ask for someone to give me a hand, but my mouth was completely frozen.  Although I could not move, I could hear clearly passengers question what was wrong with me.  
The next scene I can recall  is being in an ambulance.  According to the ambulance officers, two expatriates had attended to me and called emergency services on my behalf. But it seemed that the two kind-hearted persons were not on board the ambulance. 
I still do not know who they are,  their names or  what they look like.  
Had I not received attention, I might just have kept frozen in the seat or  fallen on the floor. 
Before the two passengers bothered to attend to me, more than a dozen others had passed by. The scene resembled the parable of the Good Samaritan from the Bible. 
How invaluable is the kindheartedness and willingness to help displayed by the two  people who bothered to care. I would like to express my thanks in person. 
Wong Kwok-wah, Yuen Long
Smoking ban goes unenforced in general
I would like to comment on your article ('Smokers ignore ban at transport hubs', December 2). While I thought it an accurate statement, it would have been even more accurate just to say 'Smokers ignore ban'.
Never in my experience in the entertainment business have I seen a law so ignored by the general public, or so unenforced by government officials, as the 'no-smoking' law.
It is blatantly apparent if you walk into any bar, especially one not on street level, that there has been little or no effort to enforce this ban.  So why introduce the law in the first place?
What it has effectively done is to drive smokers away from the very few bars, mine included, that actually thought the government was sincere  in banning people from smoking inside, to bars that just ignore the law and let their patrons puff away with blissful impunity. 
The sad fact is that people who smoke drink more, probably to rid themselves of the taste of the cigarette, than people who don't.
So I would like to ask the government to either enforce the ban properly, or abolish it and let us all return to a level playing field where smokers and non-smokers alike are free to choose where they  work and socialise.
Stuart Brookes, Sheung Wan




Letters