Freedom of speech still cherished and protected in SAR

Alex Chan ("Self-righteous stance lowers tone of debate", October 11) says that if expatriates want to join the national education debate, they should learn to discuss rationally.

I, for one, strongly question the rationale of his comments made in his latest letter.

Mr Chan (of Santa Barbara, California) states that we expatriates are in Hong Kong because we can't find opportunities back home.

First of all, I should inform your correspondent that I was born and raised here in Hong Kong, with Anglo-Chinese parents, and, unlike him, continue to reside in the city. Therefore, I believe I am in a better position than he is to debate current affairs here, and his labelling me as an expatriate in his reply to my letter ("Protesters still proud to be Chinese", September 27) is in fact inaccurate.

Furthermore, not all expatriates are in Hong Kong for the same reason, and to simply assume that all of them are in the city purely because they couldn't find work in their home countries is another fine example of bigotry displayed by some of your correspondents.

I should also inform him that it was in fact Sam Wong ("Elsie Tu is qualified to talk on issues", September 21) who first made the "stupid suggestion" that those who were opposed to national education should "renounce their Chinese nationality and say goodbye to Hong Kong as soon as possible".