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Letters

Time to form an interim government
In his Mr Shangkong column on October 27 ("Time for Leung to take reality check"), George Chen called on Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to face reality. He also spoke of how Tung Chee-hwa, our first chief executive, came out in support of Leung, saying he didn't believe he had done anything wrong.
If taking a reality check means Leung has to jump, he would probably say he couldn't because Beijing hasn't given its permission.
Then, in an article on October 29 ("Core issues"), Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, spoke about introducing a broader electoral base for the nominating committee [for the 2017 chief executive election]. The central government has said that it would not broaden the base.
Thus, neither of these two articles offers a solution to end the current impasse.
More and more small traders and public transport operators are suffering financially. Not surprisingly, they are turning against the students and asking them to "stop the bleeding".
More and more society leaders have come forward to say, "Go home and return to classes" - equally to no avail.
I fear that the student leaders have sadly lost their sense of balance and direction, and are just waiting for something to happen that will surely cause them harm. Not just them, but all those who want universal suffrage for the 2017 election.
I believe we need a third party whom the central government can accept and trust to help resolve the impasse.
We will not advocate that Leung resign. James Tien Pei-chun urged him to consider doing so and then had his membership of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference revoked.
I suggest that an interim government be formed, to be headed by legislator Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee or former finance secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung, while Leung can go on a sabbatical for as long as is needed, to enable all issues to be resolved, based on the golden rule of "give and take".
Ronald Wong, The Peak
 
Consider those affected by the protests
The Occupy Central movement has lasted more than a month already and no one knows when it will end. The students are tough and "stubborn".
I really appreciate the perseverance of the students and their team spirit. But Hong Kong people are losing patience.
To be honest, unless you are a "victim" of the movement, you may not understand their feelings and situation. I went to the University of Hong Kong last Saturday. When I found that I could only go there by bus, and I had waited 15 minutes at the bus stop for a bus that had changed its route, I was really frustrated. I found it so inconvenient; what about the residents nearby?
Protesters may say the residents are selfish and they fail to think far and just focus on the present situation. However, have the protesters considered the effectiveness of the movement?
From history, we know that central government seldom works according to the will of the people. So, is this really an effective way to deliver our opinion and change the mind of the Chinese government?
Ashley Cheng, Shek Kip Mei
 
Tung's think tank needs young blood
I refer to the report, "Tung think tank seeks to heal rifts opened by Occupy protests" (November 1).
The laudable objective of Our Hong Kong Foundation seems to be to study ways to take the city forward. However, think tank member Allan Zeman was quoted as saying that "the important thing is [to] … get back to the way Hong Kong was" .
Trying to hold onto the status quo will be in vain. How society handles change is key.
True democracies respond to change whereas totalitarian states resist change, allowing social pressure to build up inexorably.
Since 2003, Hong Kong has handled change poorly, and the collusion between our government and the elite has allowed massive wealth concentration, while the middle classes and poor people pay the price with diminished lives. This is the background to the anti-government student movement.
The title "Our Hong Kong Foundation" sounds inclusive, but Mr Tung recently took the tycoons to Beijing to meet President Xi Jinping , so I expect that the membership will be an establishment old boys' club. I agree with your columnist Philip Bowring's article ("The lie of the populism scare", November 2). Hong Kong needs a new structure and building such a new structure on an old foundation will be difficult, if not impossible.
To have any value, this new think tank needs some young voices and some under-50 new blood. Without a radical perspective, this new think tank will promote stagnation and thereby become a "stink tank" to maintain and safeguard the usual vested interests. Our students and ordinary citizens deserve better.
Frank Lee, Wan Chai
 
City's old trees cry out for protection
Trees are the lungs of the earth. So cutting them down is rapidly accelerating the suicide of humanity. Yet our government pays more attention to removing our "problematic heritage trees" than to increasing their efforts to provide better care to the healthy ones.
A total of 41 heritage trees have been removed since March 2010, some because of safety concerns. ("Old trees suffer the unkindest cut of all", November 3).
Why is the tree management office headed by "someone with the most junior civil service ranking" and not by a tree expert? Of course the office "failed to function", as knowledge and commitment are necessary for success in any enterprise.
Communication and co-operation between departments is essential, while passing the buck and evading responsibility is a no-go. If the tree management office has insufficient staff, then train and employ more; the government coffers are full enough to afford it.
Of course, the secretary for development declined to introduce a tree protection law. He seems more interested in chopping them down to make room for more housing.
Sadly, to those who love concrete, trees are a hindrance, not an asset to public well-being. We need to learn to love our trees and safeguard them from needless destruction.
As John Muir put it: "God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools."
Joan Miyaoka, Sha Tin
 
Cantonese apt for nursery schools
I refer to the report, "Cantonese or Putonghua in schools? Hongkongers fear culture and identity 'waning'" (September 2). Education in Hong Kong is changing because of the increasing number of mainlanders here, both teachers and students.
Teaching in Putonghua may bring some advantages and some disadvantages. It benefits those students whose mother tongue is Putonghua. In addition, there is no doubt that Putonghua is spoken nearly the same way as it is written in Chinese, so it can improve students' Chinese proficiency.
However, students learn best in their mother tongue. If they don't know what the teachers are saying, they will just stop asking questions.
Hong Kong children should choose nursery schools taught in Cantonese because play-school is a place for fun and interaction.
Karen Chan, Tseung Kwan O


Letters to the Editor, November 5, 2014

Trees contribute to public well-being. Photo: David Wong

Time for C.Y. Leung to take reality check

Tung Chee-hwa has come out in verbal support for Leung Chun-ying.

Hong Kong government can make a new case to Beijing on electoral reform

The government's report to Beijing plainly understated the degree of public support for change. 

Ex-finance chief Antony Leung denies Tung Chee-hwa's new think tank is stage for 2017 run

Antony Leung arrives for the think tank meeting. Photo: SCMP Pictures

The lie of the populism scare

For Hong Kong, the danger is its spending on uneconomic boondoggles and the failure to spend a fraction of that on pollution reduction. Photo: David Wong

Hong Kong's old trees suffer the unkindest cut of all: felling accelerates despite creation of management office

A Kowloon Park banyan tree infected with brown root rot disease is now under supervision. Photo: May Tse

Harry's view

Opinion

In his Mr Shangkong column on October 27 ("Time for Leung to take reality check"), George Chen called on Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to face reality.


Letters to the Editor, November 5, 2014

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}In his Mr Shangkong column on October 27 ("Time for Leung to take reality check"), George Chen called on Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to face reality.

In his Mr Shangkong column on October 27 ("Time for Leung to take reality check"), George Chen called on Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to face reality.