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Letters

Course on mainland will be pointless
I disagree with Executive councillor Fanny Law Fan Chui-fun's suggestion that all incoming teachers in Hong Kong should spend a month on the mainland for national education.
I do not think it is necessary and there are subjects where such a scheme would be irrelevant.
If you are a maths teacher, you will not have any discussions about issues relating to the mainland during your lessons.
Also, even if this course was felt necessary, why should they have to go to the mainland to do it?
It could easily be done in Hong Kong. Staying in a city on the mainland for a month is not going to do much to enhance your knowledge of the country. Every day, they will just be going from where they are staying to where they are studying and not seeing much of the country.
I am not opposed to national education in principle. Teachers in Hong Kong schools should know about the country. But a course to improve that knowledge should not be compulsory.
And there are many different ways to learn more about China and its people.
Understanding more about the country can be an ongoing process during their careers, but there should not be any course which is forced on student teachers.
Lam Cheuk-see, Yau Yat Chuen
Independent thinking is what matters
Education is not just about acquiring knowledge, it is also important for students to cultivate the ability to think independently.
Students have a better chance of progressing if they have good teachers who allow them to develop, and encourage them to respect different points of view. Therefore, I do not agree with the suggestion of executive councillor Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun to have incoming teachers spend a month across the border learning about the nation.
My chief objection is that it would be compulsory for all new teachers. Many of these young people would object to being forced to join this scheme and it would leave them feeling frustrated.
Those who support this proposal do not seem to have considered how these young teachers would feel about being forced to do this course on the mainland.
I agree with another Exco member, Bernard Chan, that it is important that schools should be able to "make their own choices". As he said, Hongkongers "do not accept having things foisted on them" and want to be able to choose.
If such a course is to be set up, the government needs to decide if it is going to be compulsory or up to the new teachers to decide.
After all, we need to encourage independent thinking among those who work in the education sector.
Chui Shek-man, Sha Tin
Restrictions would anger new teachers
I think it would be a bad idea to send new Hong Kong teachers to the mainland to raise their sense of belonging to China and embrace the motherland.
I have doubts about how effective such a course would be, given the relatively short period of time during which they would be on the mainland.
They would presumably not be free to decide on their own schedule, for example, any trips they make as part of their course, so I doubt if these young teachers would emerge from this month with a greater sense of belonging, regarding China.
Also, as Hongkongers, they are free to say what they want and read whatever they want online.
This kind of freedom is not enjoyed on the mainland and this would not sit comfortably with these young teachers.
Will they be allowed, while there, to talk freely to mainlanders about sensitive issues like politics? I very much doubt it.
I cannot see the point of sending young teachers on a course north of the border and then having the authorities decide what information they will or will not be given.
The government would have to consider the obvious disadvantages of such a scheme before deciding to implement it.
Apart from the opposition they would encounter to this proposal from Hong Kong citizens, for the reasons I have given, I think it would be a waste of taxpayers' money. I am sure better ways can be found to help Hongkongers get a deeper understanding of China.
Sabina Lam Siu-yin, Yau Yat Chuen
Graffiti can make city more vibrant
The government is encouraging Hong Kong teenagers to produce more art work.
I think any efforts in this regard are to be welcomed, because if there is more art it makes for a more vibrant city. And when it comes to youngsters' contributions, I also think that graffiti is worthy of consideration.
In art classes in schools, you see some wonderful examples of very creative graffiti.
I see good graffiti as a form of art. Sadly, under present legislation, it is prohibited in Hong Kong in public places.
We saw a lot of artwork emerge from last year's umbrella movement and this included a lot of graffiti. However, again, it fell foul of the law, for example, the case of "chalk girl".
Much of this graffiti was aimed at showing support for those involved in the Occupy Central movement.
I think there needs to be a change of mindset by the government.
It should be willing to modify its regulations and recognise some graffiti as art work and not just brand it all as a form of pollution in the city and as illegal. This would certainly encourage more teenagers to get involved in art.
I definitely prefer to paint graffiti as I find it is the most effective way to get your message across.
It should be seen as a vital and legitimate part of popular culture.
Chris Lam, Tseung Kwan O
Food trucks already operate
I refer to the letter by Cindy Yuen Wing-sze ("Food vans might drive out hawkers", March 14).
She is correct to say that Hong Kong traffic is busy and there would be hygiene issues related to introducing food trucks to Hong Kong's streets.
These problems were solved here by moving many food hawkers' street-level outdoor stalls to food courts inside buildings. So, why go back to eating outside in dirty streets and roads?
I have seen some vans selling lunch boxes in Tai Po Industrial Estate. They offer a useful service, because there are no fast food shops in the area and some of the factory buildings do not offer an in-house canteen. These vans also operate in remote work sites.
There is clearly a market for these trucks where there are no fast food eateries.
Pang Chi-ming, Fanling
Push off-peak rates at popular sites
To overcome the tourist overcrowding situation, I would suggest an entry permit system.
There could be time-of-day incentives or restrictions at shops, tourist attractions and on public transport.
This would encourage people to make better use of the hours that are not so busy when there are fewer people, like 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm on weekdays.
For example, the MTR Corporation could issue an off-peak-hours day pass.
Just looking at total tourist entrance numbers can be rather misleading; it would be better to examine the hourly flow patterns.
Albert Tong, Quarry Bay


Letters to the Editor, March 18, 2015

Misgivings about Fanny Law's idea. Photo: SCMP Pictures 

Opinion