Advertisement
Advertisement
Needs of buffaloes ignored. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Letters to the Editor, December 27, 2014

I have a candidate for Hong Kong's most ironically named government department.

It seems the Environmental Protection Department is not satisfied with its full-on attempt to destroy Lantau's coastal environment by filling in the sea to build a massive and unnecessary incinerator, because it is now attacking the land.

It has granted a permit (I saw a department notice posted in Chinese) allowing the dumping of building waste in a coastal protection area, home to many rare migrant bird species and of course Lantau's unique wild buffalo population.

I took a picture of such dumping in the field behind Pui O beach looking towards the all-weather sports field.

This area was pristine wetland.

Presumably for officials the second word in the department's title means protection of my own skin.

Environmental stands for the political environment in Hong Kong and how it can benefit them.

Their main concern within the department appears to be assured salaries and a comfortable retirement.

As for the few poor old buffaloes and the odd endangered species, well, it looks like you are just going to have to try and fend for yourselves. Try eating concrete.

Shark's fin dishes continue to be popular in Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong, particularly during wedding and birthday banquets, but how many of the diners think about where the fins came from and the method of fishing that was used?

Often fishermen cut the fins off and simply throw the sharks back into the sea. They sink to the ocean floor and die, and it is a painful death.

It is a senseless waste of sharks, which take a long time to mature. Some species have a low reproduction rate, and so if their numbers are depleted through overfishing it is difficult for stocks to be replenished.

Diners must know this but they still eat shark's fin soup in restaurants in Hong Kong and the restaurants keep putting this dish on their menus.

The owners will argue in their defence that they do so because customers demand these traditional shark's fin dishes.

The restaurants are afraid that they could lose customers to competing eateries which continue to offer shark's fin soup. But, these business people must eventually accept that some shark species face extinction and they must remove dishes using shark fin from their menus.

They can offer other seafood options, such as abalone and sea cucumber, but care must be taken to prevent overfishing.

There have been cases of alleged and proven medical malpractices in public hospitals.

It has to be recognised that public hospitals experience staff shortages and this means that a lot of employees are suffering from stress.

As a consequence many have moved to private hospitals. They are under less pressure in the private sector and they get paid more.

If the government wants to deal with the problems being experienced by public hospitals it must sort out these staff issues. Only in this way can it reduce the exodus of medical staff.

The stress is caused by staff having to work long hours and often not getting enough rest. This leaves them less time to relax with family and friends.

I think Hong Kong citizens can help by not abusing the public health-care system. For example, they should call for an ambulance only when they know for sure that they need one.

The government needs to get this message across about the importance of public cooperation and it must also ensure public hospital employees get improved benefits.

Many teenagers nowadays spend long periods playing games online.

A justification given for this is that they are under a lot of pressure at school and this helps them to relieve the tension.

While I can see the positive impact of relaxing with a computer game, the trend of overuse is becoming alarming.

While online gaming can help relieve stress, obsessive use can also lead to health problems. Teenagers who spend inordinate amounts of time online will feel exhausted by their efforts and this is not a relaxing experience.

Also, sitting hunched in front of a computer screen for hours on end can lead to youngsters getting chronic shoulder and neck pain. They will also probably pay little attention to their diets and eat junk food or not eat at all.

They are trying to escape from the pressures of academic work, but actually start neglecting their studies.

Obsessive gaming will damage relationships with friends and family. For cyber-addicts the virtual world becomes their escape from the real world and they lose their ability to communicate with others.

More counselling must be available in schools to help students who have become obsessed with online gaming. Teenagers should try and make healthy lifestyle choices.

Many parents in Hong Kong feel that if their children do not perform well academically in school exams they will struggle to succeed in life.

Therefore they send their children to tutorial lessons after the school day to help give them an edge in the public exams and also sign them up for extracurricular activities.

This can lead to youngsters developing psychological problems such as depression and anxiety.

It is certainly the case that parents in this city do push their children. I have heard of some senior secondary students who will study for at least 12 hours every day. And, as I said, after a tough school day they will then face a gruelling round of tutorial classes.

This tough schedule leaves many of them exhausted.

Given the high levels of stress it is clearly time to reform our education system. Everything comes down to a single public exam and this has to change. There should be two options when it comes to exams.

Also, where it is clear some students will not do well in the exam, they should be encouraged to follow another career path and this should be done at an early stage in secondary school.

Finally, students have to be given the right kind of guidance so that they can be helped to deal with the stress and pressure they face at school. This can be done through talks.

There is a need to raise public awareness about the problem of cyberbullying.

It can happen at any time and it is impossible for the victim to escape from this form of bullying.

This causes them serious psychological pressure. They often see the people who are bullying them regularly and will often try to withdraw into themselves to avoid the pain they feel as a consequence of this cyberbullying.

In the most tragic circumstances some young victims have committed suicide.

The government has failed to address this problem and does not seem to realise how serious it has become.

It has been claimed that there is no effective law in Hong Kong which would punish someone who is involved in cyberbullying.

I am not aware of any government departments or NGOs which are responsible for handling cases and allegations of cyberbullying. This can mean that with limited support and resources, victims do not know where to turn for help.

If they go online they will have to sift through a great deal of conflicting and confusing information.

The government needs to recognise this is a problem and that it is getting worse.

It should define what it means by cyberbullying and allocate resources to help the victims and assist them with recovery. It should use social media to educate citizens about this problem and how they can handle it.

Laws are needed to curb it and they must be properly enforced so that those guilty of bullying are punished and citizens' rights are protected.

Researchers have used the term "Generation O" to describe Hongkongers who are overstressed and overworked.

They attribute this to bad air quality and people's lax attitude towards healthy living.

One thing these people share in common is the belief that work comes first. They are the least positive in Asia about their physical and mental health.

People living like this, with immense pressure at work and not enough time to relax, could end up with chronic illnesses. In the long run they will be less productive at work.

Work is important, but it should not dominate our lives. People need to learn to allocate time to relax.

If they are under too much pressure their mental health could be affected.

Also, staff should be encouraged to communicate more with each other in offices and they should have lighter workloads.

Post