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Letters

Sandwich class being neglected
I was disappointed by the short-term relief measures Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah offered in his budget.
Tsang neglected the needs of the "sandwich" class and his measures will certainly not alleviate poverty.
Most lower-middle-class people who work do not live in public estates, so they cannot benefit from the one free month of rent. Also, many recent migrants will not gain as they remain on the waiting list for public flats.
Recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance got an extra month and this was unfair to the lower middle class.
I am not saying the poor should not be helped, but this one-off additional payment does nothing to alleviate long-term unemployment. That can only be achieved by helping CSSA recipients to become self-reliant.
The government should be creating more job opportunities for them and helping them, through social workers, to find employment. This would give these people a chance to leave poverty and increase the supply of manpower in the city. In turn, it would make Hong Kong more competitive, which is surely the purpose of the budget.
However, despite these criticisms, I do back the decision to consider a "future fund" to finance more infrastructure projects.
With an ageing population and less manpower, the government will get less revenue. Yet it will need substantial sums for medical care and homes for the elderly.
A future fund will be needed to pay for these projects years from now and reduce the pressure on the next generation.
Mimi Wu Yin-ting, Sha Tin
 
Ukrainians flout process of democracy
I don't agree with what the western Ukrainian (pro-European Union) protesters are doing in Kiev, causing their president, Viktor Yanukovych, to flee. What is wrong with using the electoral process?
We can't expect much in the way of democracy or stability to result from their use of force and flouting of due process.
William DuBay, Ap Lei Chau
 
Out-of-touch approach to city's rubbish
Environment Secretary Wong Kam-sing told the Legco panel on the environment on February 24, that our streets will soon be "filled with rubbish", unless the Environmental Protection Department can extend massively the New Territories landfills and build a giant incinerator on picturesque Shek Kwu Chau.
This is a form of emotional blackmail designed to cover up decades of inaction on waste management.
Hong Kong's streets are already filled with rubbish. On my way to Central at 7am, I pass the forecourt of the Star Ferry, strewn with litter from newspaper distribution. I then pass piles of unsorted waste on the way to Hollywood Road: empty bottles, food, flowers, cartons, paper, plastic wrapping and electrical goods, half-stuffed into the ubiquitous black plastic bags.
Our small army of street cleaners load these piles onto trolleys and push them painfully towards the local rubbish collection points. The waste is then dumped in the western New Territories, with no separation, intermediate processing or recycling.
Hong Kong's current waste management system is simply "collect and dump". The "modern" strategy being put forward by the department is the same, only with a new, nasty twist - collect, dump 70 per cent, convert 20 per cent into toxic fumes by incineration and finally convert 10 per cent into toxic slag, also by incineration; then dump that.
The department's earlier claims that Hong Kong is already recycling around 50 per cent of its waste have been completely discredited and many innovative or common-sense waste management ideas have been put to it over many years.
Despite this, the department continues to doggedly pursue its out-of-touch and environmentally unfriendly approach. It's good for the usual band of consultants, engineers, construction companies and barge-fleet owners, but it's a disaster for everyone else.
Mr Wong and his colleagues will continue to get a rough ride in Legco and elsewhere if they do not change direction.
They should cut the HK$50 billion they are aiming to spend on incineration and landfills. Instead they should dedicate themselves to giving Hong Kong a truly world-class waste collection, sorting, recycling and processing network for the whole territory.
John Schofield, Lantau
 
Public has a duty to help reduce waste
Like other affluent cities, Hong Kong is facing a severe waste problem.
We are generating waste at an amazing speed, and as the three landfill sites near capacity, the issue becomes more urgent than ever.
I believe all citizens have to take responsibility to reduce waste, given that we are producers of it. We can all follow the principle of "use less, waste less". We can recycle waste and, where possible, buy fewer repackaged products.
The government has its part to play through a vigorous promotion of waste reduction.
In this way, it can mobilise the community. One way of doing this is through the implementation of the waste levy. I hope it will come up with a strategy for this soon.
We all share a responsibility to practise food waste reduction at source.
Maggie Mak Yuen-ting, Hung Hom
 
Cut selfishness to ease MTR overcrowding
The problem of overcrowding on the MTR is a controversial topic.
I think the best way to deal with it is through education and looking at a number of options.
The MTR Corporation could remove some seats to increase carrying capacity, increase train frequency, buy new trains, and offer early-bird special tickets.
Those of us who use the network every day know the main reason people often cannot board is because many passengers will not step into the middle of the carriage where there is room.
It is maddening to be standing on the platform at a station. It is extremely crowded near the doors, but the middle of the carriage is nearly empty.
I find it very hard to understand why people refuse to take a few more steps to a less crowded area.
The MTR Corp needs to educate the passengers to think of others.
People should just put down their smartphones, newspapers or books, stay closer to each other and go into the middle of the carriage. This is an easy solution to overcrowding.
We should look at ourselves first before deciding to pass judgment on the MTR.
Maggie Leung, Lam Tin
 
Developers should be set land deadlines
It would appear that the building of flats above MTR stations is a win-win situation. Hong Kong gets another residential development and the MTR Corporation makes money from selling the flats.
However, in the last few years, the MTR Corp has not been building enough flats at various sites and is leaving this land idle ("Pressure on MTR over pace of property rollout", March 3).
In Hong Kong where there is an artificial shortage of land, developers, including the MTR Corp, should be given a deadline for developing a piece of land which they either were given or that has been bought in a land action.
If they fail to meet the deadline, the land should be taken back and auctioned off again.
In addition, the government should hold the directors of such corporations personally responsible for not completing developments. Penalties could include a custodial sentence or barring them from being directors of a company.
These people should be hurt where it hurts most. Maybe then they will realise, as so many unfortunate Hongkongers do, what it feels like to live in a cage home.
Jeffry Kuperus, Clear Water Bay 
 
Liberal studies not suitable as core subject
I refer to the article by Linda Yeung ("Core of the problem", March 3). I think that liberal studies should be an elective (rather than a core) subject in schools.
Secondary students are not familiar with the subject. Before it was introduced, they did general studies.
Many therefore have difficulty dealing with the questions that are asked in exams, even if they watch more news programmes and try to have a deeper understanding of current affairs.
Also, I do not think there are enough experienced liberal studies teachers in Hong Kong. Most of them have not had experience of teaching this kind of course and it shows. And they need to teach two subjects in schools. Some have been given very little time to acquire the skills needed to organise a course effectively.
This means they are of little help to those students who are having difficulty getting to grips with the subject.
I also feel that liberal studies is too subjective. Each teacher has his, or her, own views on a particular question on a topic.
This issue of subjectivity can cause problems when different teachers are marking answers in the Diploma of Secondary Education exam paper. It means that for the students, there is not really a level playing field.
Officials need to think carefully about whether it should be an elective or core subject.
Lisa Chung Lai-yan, Tiu Keng Leng


Letters to the Editor, March 8, 2014

Pro-EU protesters gather in Kiev. Photo: Reuters

Pressure on MTR over pace of property rollout

Paul Chan

Education Bureau puts liberal studies under the microscope

Terence Poon (above), a liberal studies teacher at De La Salle Secondary School, believes keeping the subject as a core one will broaden students' horizons. Photo: Edmond So

Terence Poon (above), a liberal studies teacher at De La Salle Secondary School, believes keeping the subject as a core one will broaden students' horizons.Photo: Edmond So

Opinion

I was disappointed by the short-term relief measures Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah offered in his budget.


Letters to the Editor, March 8, 2014

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}I was disappointed by the short-term relief measures Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah offered in his budget.

I was disappointed by the short-term relief measures Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah offered in his budget.