Letters to the Editor, September 27, 2013

Lack of action on NT land use is depressing

I find it depressing that many of Philip Bowring's comments in his column ("Who can lead on land policy?" September 22) ring true.

Your editorial ("Small-house issue needs full review", September 24) is therefore more than timely.

The inadequacy of government is rudely exposed by lack of action on the long-standing problems of New Territories land use. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying is a professional land surveyor and Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was development secretary in the previous administration with these matters under her portfolio and her perusal.

If these most senior figures in the administration cannot now get to grips with this important issue, then who is going to? The pan-democratic and pro-establishment political parties also display their impotence at dealing with concrete community problems, as they have offered no proposals on this issue. They would rather bicker over universal suffrage.

I agree with P. Harris ("End massive scam of village house rights", September 20) that the original objectives of allowing families and their "sons of the soil" to remain within their home village is the fundamental basis for a resolution. This so-called small-house policy has been manipulated into an ancestral mandate and converted into "pennies from heaven".

Those families that have sold out their "villager rights" to developers and non-indigenous parties should have thereby forfeited their own bloodline's right. It is a ridiculous state of affairs when many of these sons have made new lives overseas and yet expect this windfall.

I would surmise that given some common-sense filtering based on prior forfeiture and actual residency, most of the 10,000 outstanding applications would be disqualified. Perhaps the task could be given to our capable director of audit.

Frank Lee, Mid-Levels

Clear unsightly land use, keep green lung

I agree absolutely with Mike Rowse ("A little detective work required to get to the bottom of ridiculous housing ideas", September 16).

The small-house policy was greatly misconceived and has long been abused. Clear the New Territories of the policy and the many unsightly uses of so-called agricultural land for new housing. Keep our needed green lung in this heavily polluted city. The minimum size for the new apartments proposed by Henderson Land Development chairman Lee Shau-kee should be more than 300 sq ft net, similar to those in small Singapore.

While on the subject of housing and population, the mainland migrant quota of 150 for family reunion must not be reduced. And it must be monitored by Hong Kong immigration to ensure adherence to the policy of reunion.

To avoid future social problems, family break-up and delinquency, we must quickly unite families who are by virtue of their circumstances committed to the value system of Hong Kong, unlike the new breed of activists branded "government supporters".

Tom Mulvey, Wan Chai

Integrate Pearl Delta airports for efficiency

I refer to the report ("Third runway only answer: officials", September 12) where the Civil Aviation Department tried to make the case for runway expansion at Hong Kong airport.

The environmental sustainability approach would be to integrate the Pearl River Delta airports - Chek Lap Kok, Macau, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Guangzhou Baiyun - and to consolidate air traffic control under one authority.

This is highlighted by the department's admission that 1.45 per cent of flights were delayed because Hong Kong uses imperial measurement (feet) and China uses metric measurement (metres) and air traffic controllers spent time in making conversions. This is a sorry case of one country, two systems, five airports. It would be comical if it was not so serious, as besides lost time, this must have safety implications, as it offers an opportunity for mistakes to be made.

The reason why the logical, sensible and safe step for an air traffic control covering the whole delta area has not taken place can be summed up in one word - "turf".

Charlie Chan, Mid-Levels

Pan-dems are too focused on perfection

I refer to Alex Lo's column ("Absolutist pan-democrats risk another NPC interpretation", September 21).

Hong Kong has a justifiable reputation as a liberal city and the pan-democrats have expected that this is where political reforms would be launched, eventually leading to true democracy in China.

There is no doubt that Hong Kong citizens have shown they have the power to overthrow government decisions, such as the July 1, 2003 protest against the Article 23 internal security law. Since then we have seen highly vocal minority parties in the Legislative Council chamber, led by lawmakers like "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung and Wong Yuk-man , who have actively participated in different protests urging the government to focus on helping the needy in society.

However, the drastic approach adopted by these legislative councillors does not have the general support of the Hong Kong public or the rest of the pan-democratic parties.

I think Scholarism (originally formed to oppose national education in schools) and the Occupy Central movement come from another part of the political spectrum. It saddens me to see that the moderate approach is still not accepted by all of society.

The situation is made worse by the fact that there is a lack of unity in the ranks of the pan-democrats. Some parties have refused to support the political reform package of Scholarism and Scholarism has been criticising other parties for betraying Hong Kong citizens by accepting a package which is not fully democratic.

Occupy Central is seen by critics, especially from the business sector, as having an unrealistic strategy thought up by academics, which will not have a positive effect on Hong Kong.

Clearly something has got to change in order to foster Hong Kong's democratic development. Too many people here focus on money and pay no attention to such important issues as freedom.

The different pan-democrat groups have to learn to accept compromises and realise that it is unrealistic to expect to get the most perfect form of universal suffrage straight away.

They should concentrate on fighting against an unreasonable system being introduced in the 2017 chief executive election.

If the pan-democrats can work together, they can help to lead our city to a brighter future.

Kevin Lai Hui-pong, Sha Tin

Education is missing from pollution effort

I recognise the need to improve the air quality in China.

Pollution levels in Beijing are serious, especially in the winter when they are exacerbated by sandstorms.

Other industrial clusters in the country are affected by emissions of carbon dioxide.

Serious air pollution adversely affects health, with many people suffering respiratory diseases.

There may be a greater reluctance to invest in these pollution black spots because businesspeople are concerned about the poor working environment. This can hurt the country's economy.

For these reasons, a strategy to reduce pollution levels is urgently needed ("Beijing unveils plan to cut air pollution", September 13).

The proposals to shut down polluting factories, improve fuel quality and reduce over-reliance on coal, appear to be feasible, however, they do not go far enough.

The government has to promote greater awareness through education.

Children should learn about the importance of protecting the environment and adults should be encouraged to reduce reliance on private cars. The public transport infrastructure should be improved.

Exhaust emission standards of vehicles should also be tightened.

Finally, the central government has to crack down on corruption. If this is not done, it will make it more difficult for Beijing to implement its new anti-pollution measures. There must be co-operation from all officials or citizens at the grass-roots level will not benefit.

Jessica Lee Pui-sin, Ma On Shan

Job loss impact affects society as a whole

I refer to the report ("2008 crisis 'led to surge in suicides'", September 18).

A study found a link between increases in suicide rates and rising unemployment as a result of the 2008 global financial crisis.

I do think that the negative effects of losing your job can be serious not only for the individual but also for the family, and this affects the whole of society.

Inflation is a serious problem in Hong Kong and leads to prices of daily necessities rising and skyrocketing property prices. The high cost of living makes conditions more difficult for citizens who are jobless.

In some cases, this can lead to depression and greater domestic violence.

It also affects the government financially in the form of increased welfare payments.

The administration has to provide more training and further education to give unemployed people a chance to learn new skills and become more competitive in the labour market.

Amy Kong Shuk-fan, Kwai Chung