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Letters

Phone users need to think about security
I refer to Katie Leung Ka-ki's letter, "Phone users are too relaxed about security" (September 2).
The more technologically advanced a smartphone, the more useful and convenient it is. Nowadays it is not uncommon to see everyone around us holding a phone. Mobile phones have become an integral part of our lives. However, people do not pay much attention to phone security.
People regularly input personal information online. This is a serious problem as information is often stolen and misused without the owner knowing.
Information stored on phones is often highly personal, including business documents and information about friends and family. A lost phone therefore affects not just the owner of the phone, but a wider group of people too.
People should lock their phones and use passwords on files to add an extra layer of protection.
Anti-theft software is available to make sure no one can hack into a phone. Phone users also need to think about what files and applications they download and with whom they share data.
Emily Lau, Tseung Kwan O
 
iCloud users should know the risks
The recent appearance of nude photos of American celebrities online has aroused concern as to whether Apple's backup system, iCloud, is reliable.
The functions available on mobile phones are numerous and are expanding. With a pool of advanced apps, people have readily embraced their use, but the downsides of such capabilities are often forgotten. We are willingly turning a blind eye to the risks.
I find it hard to understand why people would want to take compromising photographs of themselves and then save the images to an online application such as iCloud. They should know that their actions can and will have consequences.
Of course, it must also be said that hackers who take advantage of this have invaded their victims' privacy. They should be made to pay for their actions.
Vitto Jamie Carmelle De Castro, Shek Tong Tsui
 
Stand firm against China kleptocracy
I was infuriated by David Howarth's asinine interpretation of historical metaphors in his letter, "HK people have reached their Rubicon" (September 8).
Real historians don't whitewash the truth or forget pertinent details of genocide committed by vengeful egomaniacs like Julius Caesar. Caesar's greed, ambition and inhumanity collectively served as the catalysts that brought down the admittedly flawed Roman republic, caused a civil war, and shackled the many conquered peoples of Europe with centuries of tyranny.
The new empire that is China, which is controlled by the Communist Party, is merely a thinly disguised oligarchy or - as I see it - kleptocracy, something that Caesar would have relished and exploited for his own personal gain. The rich and powerful seldom care about the masses and the needy. Caesar's "generosity" was self-serving.
I defend the citizens in Hong Kong against your slight. I encourage their passive protest, which falls in line with that practised by Gandhi. I know that they will persevere against the darkness, as did Nelson Mandela.
Ryan Culliton, Po Lam
 
Taxis taking passengers for a ride
I have always had high regard for taxi drivers in Hong Kong. They always use their meters and take the shortest route.
Recently, however, when I have boarded taxis at Shenzhen Bay going to Tsim Sha Tsui, they have tried to charge me the Tai Lam Tunnel toll fee after taking the Tuen Mun route, and once when I caught a taxi to the airport at the Grand Hyatt in Wan Chai, the driver tried to charge a HK$140 surcharge.
When I asked him to explain, he said it was for the Western Harbour Tunnel.
He most likely thought I was a tourist and did not know that we had in fact taken the Cross-Harbour Tunnel (which costs HK$10 plus a HK$10 return fee) and the Lantau Link (HK$30).
If you add two suitcases at HK$5 each, the surcharge bill comes to a total of HK$60 and not HK$140.
Jeffry Kuperus, Clear Water Bay
 
Do more to help the poor in Hong Kong
Hong Kong is a prosperous, modern city, but the wealth gap is continuing to grow and there are many people living below the poverty line.
The Commission on Poverty has not done enough to tackle the problem.
It should not only set a poverty line, but also think of solutions to help the poorer members of society improve their lives. It should work at the grass-roots level to help move people out of subdivided flats.
Globalisation has become a destructive force in this regard and is the main reason behind the growing polarisation between rich and poor, and why many are trapped in poverty.
Unless the government tackles the issue, we will see an endless succession of problems, especially in terms of welfare and access to the medical system. Efforts to help the poor would be universally admired.
Kathy Au Yeung, Wong Tai Sin
 
One man, one vote is a reality in many places
Franklin Tseng encourages us to look at reality in his letter, "One man, one vote has failed in the West" (September 8).
He also likens a country to a corporation and says that no corporation appoints a chief executive officer by one employee, one vote. But he himself ignores reality.
In terms of its economic performance per citizen, the United States is five times more successful than China. This can hardly be described as failure.
One employee, one vote may sound stupid to Tseng, but what has it to do with a country? Citizenship is the luck of the draw, but employees voluntarily sign a contract with their employer. Shareholders, not employees, own the company. Shareholders exercise one man, one vote to appoint the board. Does this constitute a failure? The board uses one man, one vote when voting to appoint a chief executive officer.
And in Germany, employees elect up to half of a firm's supervisory board members via a one man, one vote workers' committee. Germany remains an exceptionally successful industrial economy. That's reality.
Paul Serfaty, Mid-Levels
 
In democracy, people are the shareholders
Franklin Tseng ("One man, one vote has failed in the West", September 8) has produced a flawed argument and fails to support his point of view.
For the election of the chief executive for Hong Kong, he draws the comparison that it is impractical for employees to have one man, one vote when appointing a chief executive officer of a company, and that it is better instead for that appointment to be in the "experienced hands of a board of directors".
What Tseng fails to understand is that members of the public are not employees of the government.
In a republic or a democracy, the public are the shareholders of the common good and mutual prosperity of the community. And, as shareholders, they should have equal voting rights.
Conversely, it is the members of the government who are the employees. They are the ones who are paid by the people of the community - who they serve - through taxes and fees.
The government owns nothing in its own right; everything belongs, collectively or individually, to the people.
Tseng should reconsider his views on who deserves the right to vote.
Alan Johnson, Lantau
 
HK youngsters have much to offer society
Hong Kong youngsters are much maligned for their supposed lack of competitive drive and desire to isolate themselves, but much of the criticism is unjustified.
Although many young people are glued to the internet, this does not necessarily mean they are isolating themselves. They are constantly connected to society through technology and express their ideas online. Many maintain good relationships with others online and are very well informed about what is happening in the world.
Hong Kong's youngsters should be admired for having the courage to stand up and fight for what they believe in.
Students are willing to participate in class boycotts and organise demonstrations in order to achieve what they perceive to be a better society. They are by no means ignoring the world or isolating themselves.
There are some so-called cases of "hidden youth", but they are extreme examples and are not representative of the majority.
Many of these young people who seek to isolate themselves suffer from academic stress, which is a problem which needs to be addressed.
Youngsters in Hong Kong may not be as hard-working as those in other places, but they are highly educated and skilled and have a lot to offer. They just need to be provided with opportunities by society so that they have a chance to shine.
Yumi Wong Sheung-yi, Tiu Keng Leng


Letters to the Editor, September 20, 2014

Phone security is a growing concern. Photo: Bloomberg

Letters to the Editor, September 2, 2014

Life-saving treatment in Central. Photo: Sam Tsang

Letters to the Editor, September 8, 2014

Smoke spews from a ship in the harbour. Photo: David Wong

Opinion

I refer to Katie Leung Ka-ki's letter, "Phone users are too relaxed about security" (September 2). The more technologically advanced a smartphone, the more useful and convenient it is.
