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Letters

HK students would rather use Cantonese
I refer to the report "Doubts raised about using Putonghua as medium or instruction for Chinese language", (August 17).
Generally, Hong Kong students feel more comfortable when talking in Cantonese, given that it is their mother tongue.
When adolescents are talking to each other, they use Cantonese, not Putonghua.
Some of them find it embarrassing in the classroom because they sometimes get the pronunciation of Putonghua wrong.
This makes learning Chinese language more difficult. In my experience, when a Chinese language teacher asks a question in Putonghua at junior form level, fewer pupils are willing to answer.
Many do not feel comfortable with the language and they would be more reluctant to speak out in class and express their views if the medium of instruction was Putonghua.
I do not believe that using Putonghua will help learners have a better understanding of Chinese language, or that they will acquire better reading and listening skills.
It will not give them any advantage in the Diploma of Secondary Education exam. Of course it is useful to learn a second language, but not to use it as the medium of instruction.
Youngsters may also find themselves getting confused by differences in pronunciation between Cantonese and Putonghua.
Cantonese should continue to be used to teach Chinese language in Hong Kong's schools.
There may be some students who would prefer to use Putonghua, but the vast majority will feel far more comfortable, and perform better, if schools stick with Cantonese.
Helen Chan Si-tung, Tseung Kwan O
 
Waste already transported by sea
I refer to the letters by Michael Pratt ("Incinerator scandal can be halted", August 9), Patrick Wilson ("Finance committee can save the day", August 11), and Jenny Quinton ("Incinerator plans may waste chance for what is best for Hong Kong", August 15).
Contrary to what Wilson suggested, the integrated waste management facility will not involve any construction on Shek Kwu Chau island and will not affect the coastal protection zone. It will be developed on an artificial island separated by a water channel from Shek Kwu Chau.
Pratt expressed concerns on the transfer of waste to the facility through the busy shipping lanes. Containerised municipal solid waste has already been transported by large specialised container vessels from the existing refuse transfer stations on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon to landfills for 20 years.
The same mode of clean, safe and efficient transport operation will be adopted for delivering containerised waste to the waste management facility and only three to four waste delivery trips will be made daily.
On the plasma gasification plant in Teesside in the UK, mentioned by Quinton, while the plant has the capacity to handle about 1,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste each day, it is yet to be commissioned and will take several years of operation before the effectiveness and efficacy of such a gasification plant can be properly evaluated.
The other plants being developed in China are much smaller. For example, the plant commissioned in Shanghai in 2013 is just a pilot plant for about 30 tonnes of hazardous waste, clinical waste and incinerator fly-ash each day.
The integrated waste management facility will adopt modern moving grate technology, which is the current proven mainstream technology in the world.
Many new plants currently under construction around the world also adopt grate-based technology.
We will closely monitor and take into account the progress and development of gasification and any other technologies when planning future waste treatment facilities to meet the longer-term needs of Hong Kong.
Elvis W. K. Au, assistant director of environmental protection
 
Getting people to warm to a greener society
I refer to the letter by Yammie Liu ("Fans often a better option than air cons", August 11).
I agree with your correspondent that using air conditioners can be bad for the environment, given the amount of energy they consume and the heat that the air-conditioning units generate.
However, I do not think it is realistic to expect Hongkongers to avoid using them during the summer when we face sweltering temperatures.
People are so used to having them. They are an integral part of lifestyles during the hot months and it would be very difficult to change the present mindset.
I support conservation and trying to protect the environment, but getting citizens to embrace these ideas must be part of a gradual approach. For example, rather than asking people to switch off their air cons altogether, they could be persuaded not to keep them at such cold settings and adjust them to, say, around 24 to 25 degrees Celsius.
There is no quick way to change people's attitudes, but the government can keep trying to make people adopt a more eco-friendly attitude and move us closer to a green society, through education and adverts.
Wong Po-kuen, Ma On Shan
 
Have single department to look after trees
I refer to the letter by Xu Manfei ("Simplify responsibility for tree safety", August 22).
I believe that the government has to deploy more resources in order to protect Hong Kong's natural environment.
I also agree with your correspondent that more young people should be encouraged to study tree management and take it up as a career.
It is essential to have a specific department that is solely responsible for the protection of trees.
We have so many trees and so many different kinds and yet their care is at present covered by 10 separate government departments.
This is clearly an inefficient use of resources.
A single department, with its well-qualified experts, could do a more effective job of protecting trees in Hong Kong and, in the long term, this is going to benefit the environment.
In addition, the government should enact laws to force private housing estates to have thorough and regular examinations of their trees, to ensure they are healthy and prevent accidents.
These accidents can have legal implications for property management companies and flat owners.
Schools can encourage youngsters, who have the ability and who are interested in nature, to consider pursuing a career in tree care and management.
Also, it is important to try and teach young people to recognise the importance of environmental protection.
Annabelle Ho Wai-shan, Tseung Kwan O
 
MTR can do away with safety message
Karen Lee has got to be joking ("Passengers must take care on escalators", August 25).
The MTR's "Hold the handrail and do not walk" escalator policy is absurdly nannyish.
The old have enough experience to hang on.
The young should be adventurous, and infants should be under their parents' care.
The middle-aged, far from standing still, should exercise to reduce flab and maintain their balance into old age, as they leap athletically, up, down, on and off escalators.
Hong Kong can forget being a global entrepreneurial powerhouse if its people are told to be frightened to walk on moving staircases. MTR, cease this infantilisation of adults.
Paul Serfaty, Mid-Levels


Letters to the Editor, August 27, 2014

Air conditioners needed in the summer. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Doubts raised about using Putonghua as medium of instruction for Chinese language

Gary Lam with star student Susane Wong at St Paul's Co-educational College.  Photo: Jonathan Wong

Follow best practice on waste incineration, and think local

Plasma arc gasification plant in Teesside, UK.

Letters to the Editor, August 11, 2014

Harvesting soybeans at a farm in Brazil. Photo: Bloomberg

Letters to the Editor, August 22, 2014

Xi Jinping is determined to wipe out corruption. Photo: EPA

Letters to the Editor, August 25, 2014

MTR trying to raise passenger awareness. Photo: David Wong

Opinion

I refer to the report "Doubts raised about using Putonghua as medium or instruction for Chinese language", (August 17). Generally, Hong Kong students feel more comfortable when talking in Cantonese, given that it is their mother tongue.
