Letters to the Editor, August 31, 2014
Regarding the report ("100,000 children in queue for public rental flats", August 25), I am writing to express my concerns about Hong Kong's growing housing problem.
The number of children whose families are queuing for public housing has jumped 30 per cent within three years and a family of four need to wait six to seven years on average to be allocated a public rental flat.
These statistics reflect a serious housing problem, specifically a housing shortage.
The shortage of housing causes hygiene problems and affects the health of residents.
Limited space in the city means that many low-income families are forced to live in sub-divided flats. These families have to share cramped toilets and kitchens with others, which can result in poor hygiene due to overuse.
In addition, hygiene problems are compounded by space limitations that result in kitchens and toilets often being in close proximity to one another.
This shortage increases the cost of housing as competition for homes drives prices up.
This in turn leads property developers to raise prices to increase their profits, which affects the stock market and even the economy.
The government needs to address the problem by building more public rental housing. This would decrease competition among families to move into public rental housing.
As was stated in the report, the government should be trying to build 35,000 public rental flats a year to meet demand.
It also needs to provide more housing subsidies to help low-income families move into private flats to balance the number of people applying for public rental housing and those seeking private housing.
Hong Kong's housing shortage is becoming more serious and the government needs to act quickly to safeguard the welfare of residents.
While it seems Lo does not object to the idea of protests, he does object to those who protest too much, although he does not exactly say what he means by that in his column.
He asserts that people have gone too far when they protest at a time they should be discharging their main tasks in life.
Therefore, if you are a student or a university professor, you should never protest unless you are able to do so in your spare time.
Lo might think his skipping lessons during his time at college, in order to take part in protests was unwise, but his reflection is wholly a personal matter.
Such a view should never be used to dissuade others from protesting for a cause they believe to be right and taking time off from work or school in order to do so.
I think it is rather naive for Lo to take the words of Occupy Central leader Benny Tai Yiu-ting literally [that he was doing all his work for the movement outside work]. Should Mr Tai wait for a long weekend break to launch his Occupy Central campaign?
Taxpayers do not have only one set thinking pattern.
As a taxpayer, I approve of any university members of staff who voice their discontent towards the concept of an unjust election in a fashion appropriate to the seriousness of the cause.
I believe young people who take to the streets for a right cause will be enriched in a way they can't be by their scheduled lessons.
Tanks, guns and even knives may be used by an army to defend innocent civilians against terrorists, or they can be used by terrorists to kill.
Should the weapon-makers' morality be attacked because some users have chosen to abuse the use of their inventions?
If so, then maybe we should ban the sale of knives and other kitchen utensils because many murderers have maimed their victims with these.
That he has chosen to single out peace-loving Singapore - a very minor player in the arms trade - when there are far bigger fish to fry merely shows how misplaced his priorities are.
It would not hurt him to try and keep up with Singapore's position on the very complex Israeli-Palestinian conflict before he makes wild allegations.
If he has a silver bullet to resolve this problem and all the wars out there, please kindly let the whole world know.
I shall most certainly be eternally grateful to him for brokering that elusive perpetual peace on earth.
As people spend hours in their workplace every day, it is inevitable that some workers may get hurt while they are using machines or working on construction sites. Therefore, work safety laws have been implemented.
However, is legislation enacted over a decade ago practical today?
The government needs to review and update these laws.
While the ordinance covers almost all workplaces, there are exceptions.
Domestic helpers working in employers' homes are not included, nor is the place occupied by the driver of a land transport vehicle when it is in a public place. Also, self-employed and part-time workers are not protected under current regulations.
Some employers take advantage of loopholes in the law. Not wanting to shoulder legal responsibility, employers encourage or even intimidate employees into signing contracts that state that they are self-employed, depriving employees of their rights.
If the employee has an industrial accident, they may not only lose the ability to work, but also will not be able to get compensation.
In addition, occupational diseases are not yet included in the work safety laws. For example, heat stroke, muscular strain and depression.
It is undeniable that psychological illnesses affect people's quality of work as much as physical ones. Therefore, people who develop any kind of occupational illness should be compensated.
The government needs to plug these loopholes as soon as possible for the sake of all employees.
No matter how perfect a law is when it is implemented, if the government does not keep abreast of the times and make alterations, regulations will cease to be relevant.
Earlier this month, police found more than 100 grams of marijuana in the home of Jaycee Chan, son of Jackie Chan.
He has been detained on drug-related charges in Beijing.
I was disappointed to read this as Jaycee Chan and fellow detainee, Taiwanese actor Ko Chen-tung, are celebrities.
As role models to their fans, they have a responsibility to behave well and show self discipline. In not doing so, they have let everyone down.
Drug abuse by celebrities is a growing problem as teenage fans are easily influenced.
I think Jaycee Chan and Ko should be given harsh punishments to serve as a lesson to teenagers so they understand the consequences of drug abuse.