Letters

A cry for sanity on by-elections It seems likely there will be half a million people crying out on Hong Kong's annual July 1 march again. By-election issues, problems of illegal structures, unreasonable housing prices without action taken - these are likely to bring residents out. It worries me (a former vice-chairman of the Citizens Party) - that the march could even see some violence among young, anti-government people and angry rural residents. The by-elections plan suggested by the government, especially, is arousing Hongkongers' anger, as did the proposal to implement the Article 23 anti-subversion law in 2003/4. I agree that the pan-democrats' resignations of their Legislative Council seats, to trigger by-elections, wasted taxpayers' money, but there are several ways by which such action could easily be avoided in future. The law that the government is trying to push through scrapping by-elections would mean a directly elected lawmaker who died, resigned or was disqualified midterm would be replaced by the next-best-placed candidate in the constituency at the previous election. Having the next-best-placed candidate take over is the most ridiculous political idea I have heard. How can you force a customer in a restaurant to eat noodles instead of rice when there are plenty of options on the menu? There have been candidates who donated their time to the community before an election but seemed to disappear after they lost. Can we be forced to accept such impostors? Although the proposal is equally fair to the pan-democrats and the government-loyal camp, it is not fair to the people. Johnson Lo, Tai Po 'Gay-cure' therapy is voodoo I read with disbelief that the Social Welfare Department invited a psychiatrist who practises gay-conversion therapy to talk to social workers on same-sex issues ('Hiring of 'gay cure' doctor stirs anger', June 18). It is well documented that reparative or conversion therapy causes a great deal of harm to those who receive it. Credible professional mental health organisations around the world, including Britain's Royal Society of Psychiatrists and the American Psychological Association, have declared that conversion therapy for gays is detrimental to their mental health. Even the British Medical Association has branded the therapy harmful. It is disingenuous of Dr Hong Kwai-wah to claim he adopted a neutral attitude in the workshop. He admitted he believed in conversion therapy, and he was there to tell social workers that 'they don't have to be always pro-gay'. He also suggested that 'gays can choose how to behave'. It is also inexplicable that the department felt the need to provide multiple perspectives. Homosexuality is legal in Hong Kong. If people have questions about their sexuality, we should provide them with positive support, not voodoo therapies. Jerome Yau, Happy Valley Cages and cubicles are intolerable Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was being pragmatic when she told lawmakers that the government would not outlaw subdivided flats, and that they are providing accommodation for poor people ('Cubicle flats 'fill need for poor'', June 21). However, Mrs Lam's statement that such 'accommodation [is] suitable for the grass roots and underprivileged' illustrates how out of touch our officials are with the reality of intolerable living conditions experienced by so many Hong Kong citizens ('Cage dwellers ask Legco for housing', June 22). We live in a city of ostentatious wealth, and our government sees fit to give its own senior civil servants whopping salary increases ('Santa Claus is calling early for our poor civil servants,' June 19). But these same civil servants place their heads in the sand concerning the plight of the poorest in society. Cages and cubicles are not 'suitable' accommodation for anyone. Our government is dreaming if they expect the private sector to handle accommodation for the poorest. The government must climb out of the pockets of private developers and accelerate the supply of public housing for those Hongkongers that presently have no choice but to be trapped in cages and cubicles. Fundamentally, Hong Kong needs to restructure its land policies, or society will continue to polarise. Our current administration has shown neither the capability, will or enthusiasm. Charlie Chan, Mid-Levels Blue skies don't mean clean air Chris Stubbs is living in a dream if he believes that seeing blue skies in Hong Kong, albeit very occasionally, means we are breathing clean air ('Blue-sky thinking on pollution', June 23). Just because he is unable to see the grey-yellow smog hugging our hills due to southerly sea breezes does not prove, as he suggests, that most of our pollution comes from the mainland. The emissions from Hong Kong's power stations, which continue to burn highly sulphurous coal, are now being blown north into the mainland, giving, some would argue, mainlanders a right to complain about pollution from Hong Kong. Mr Stubbs would surely be disillusioned if he studied the Air Pollution Index (API) reports issued hourly by the Environmental Protection Department. He could see that roadside air pollution readings in Central, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok have remained stubbornly at dangerously toxic levels. The real API readings should in fact be worse, and it is only because the department is dragging its feet in introducing modern standards that some people feel it is safe to breathe in Hong Kong. It isn't just what you can see. Peter Crush, Sha Tin Real reason for a lack of seats in malls I agree with Helen Heron on the lack of seating for customers (young, old, rich and poor) at Hong Kong shopping malls ('Seats for young and old lacking', June 24). While my wife is busy shopping, I have to buy a drink I don't need from a coffee shop simply to find a seat to rest with the heavy bags. But apart from making you buy a space to rest, there is a reason there are never enough seats. Imagine free and ample seating at leading malls in Central, Admiralty and Causeway Bay: they would see an invasion of domestic helpers at weekends. Mall management wouldn't want that to happen, would they? Arthur Tam, Jardine's Lookout Global trend for English teaching I concur with Perry Bayer ('English teachers can co-operate', June 23). Some of the recent letters and articles on language learning and teaching seem to have missed the point about native English-speaking teachers (NET) in Hong Kong. The provision of native speakers of different languages is fairly commonplace in language programmes around the world. I am an NET, and in my previous schools in Australia, native speakers supported the German, Indonesian and Chinese language programmes. I understand from my colleagues in Australia that the Chinese government is encouraging the provision of native Chinese-speaking teachers to support Chinese language programmes in Australia and elsewhere. Phillip Ellison, Tuen Mun Burning of hell notes is dangerous I refer to J.S. Fong's letter ('Burning of paper money is hellish, too', June 22) about enduring a neighbour's burning of hell notes within the building. I just moved into what is called by estate agents a 'Chinese building', in Mid-Levels. Most residents have a metal can ready to burn things in, plus multiple stands of incense. During the Dragon Boat festival weekend I stayed in the flat without realising that everyone had fired up their buckets and their incense. I was overcome with runny eyes, choking, sore throat and vomiting. This Sunday it was even more ludicrous: I scorched my rear jumping over flames. The ashes drift about the building for days afterwards, sticking to everything. This dangerous custom is not going to be changed unless someone takes a firm hand. Marlene Wittman, Mid-Levels Chase the big demons, not the elves Because of the duty rise on cigarettes, smokers find it more difficult to sustain their habit ('A lot of puff about new cigarette tax', June 23). Yet for many workers whose wages lie on the minimum line, smoking is a refreshment in their tea-time - though I am a non-smoker myself. It seems that the government is striving for a Hong Kong that is superficially clean and virtuous. People are made to stay away from the little elves, but not the big demons in society. Luka Man, Sha Tin