Also, as China becomes ­increasingly important on the world stage, there is a growing interest in Chinese culture and the arts. Therefore, as this new building will be showing exhibitions from the Palace Museum in Beijing, it will get more tourists to come to Hong Kong.

In turn, Hong Kong will ­become more famous as a ­centre of the arts and culture.

Hopefully the work of ­famous artists from the mainland and elsewhere in the world will be shown at the museum, again raising Hong Kong’s ­profile. Having better cultural relics will help to enrich the lives of ­Hongkongers.

The new museum will also create more job opportunities in Hong Kong. And more young people, wanting to carve out a career in museums, will study Chinese art, history and culture.

Hopefully, more young ­people visiting the museum will think and learn more about ­Chinese culture. They will no longer just focus on Western, Japanese or Korean culture, but think more about China.

This can help them increase their awareness of their Chinese identity and enhance their knowledge of the arts.

With the benefits I have ­mentioned, I am glad that Mr Xi and the Hong Kong government have signed off on the new ­museum and that it will now go ahead. I am really looking ­forward to the new museum being constructed.

Randy Lee, Ma On Shan

Interesting playgrounds are feasible

Hong Kong has a lot of parks and playgrounds, but many of these are boring and not ­stimulating for older children.

Parents have complained about this time and again, ­saying their children do not enjoy these playgrounds and that, as they get older, they get easily bored by them.

I think the government’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department needs to listen to these parents and act on their suggestions, so that parks and playgrounds are made more ­interesting for children.

A lot of the facilities at playgrounds tend to be very old. And yet, officials don’t appear to have any intention to ­modernise the facilities and have more up-to-date equipment that children can enjoy.

Even if improvements are made, officials must ensure that any new equipment, as well as being more interesting, is also safe, so as to minimise accidents in these parks. Safety should always be a priority in playgrounds in Hong Kong.

I think it is possible, with the right planning, to ensure that parks have new facilities and are also safe to use. Experts can easily give the right advice to the­ ­department.

There are playgrounds in other countries where modern equipment has been installed.

Icy Po, Tseung Kwan O

Travel ban is about nations, not Muslims

A number of anti-Trump letters have appeared in these columns recently.

We have letters telling us how the immigration ban on six ­predominantly Muslim states in the Middle East is unconscionable, and will have a detrimental impact on America’s relationship with the rest of the world.

And we have a letter telling us, presumably foreign tourists heading to the US, that we are more likely to die from domestic gun violence than Islamic ­terrorism. The immigration ban is erroneously referred to by some as a Muslim ban, but does not include many Muslim states such as Indonesia or Malaysia.

It is aimed at states that are unstable, and are known to ­cultivate and harbour deadly ­Islamic jihadism.

I am sure, as we board our flights, check into our hotels and go out for a bit of innocent fun, and become immediately aware of the various security measures in place, most of us will have little doubt as to why they are there and why they are ­necessary.

The second amendment to the US constitution has nothing to do with it, but might be a ­comfort to some if given any thought at all.

G.Bailey, Ta Kwu Ling

Local books are no longer very popular

Local print versions of books are under threat. I think local writers find it increasingly difficult to get their work published.

More people are now buying e-books. These are more convenient as they can be stored in tablets and on smartphones, and be read them anywhere.

I understand why they are so popular, but I hope that people will still buy the print versions of local books.

Whenever I am in a bookshop, I generally only see books from abroad, rather than material that has been printed locally.

This also applies to other aspects of culture. For example, K-pop is very popular here. Many youngsters are so keen on K-pop stars that they would rather listen to them than buy a new book and read it.

They may only buy a book if they have seen a movie that is adapted from a novel. However, few home-grown writers have their work adapted for the big screen.

I hope we will eventually see a revival of local books.

Karen Chan, Hang Hau