Letters to the Editor, February 4, 2018
Elections are prime time for alternative facts
Your columnist Mike Rowse is always worth reading, and usually eminently sensible and practical.
It is precisely during elections that candidates and their supporters throw out all sorts of half-truths and what have now become known as alternative facts. This is unfortunately true of both sides of the debate.
What is really needed is for a proper study of the Basic Law in circumstances when a rational approach can be taken.
Perhaps those who advocate the study of the Basic Law in schools are right. I would say that a further study of it at universities as part of general studies, as well as, dare I say it, Mandarin, could also be of benefit to the younger generation.
David Gwilt, emeritus professor, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Losing steam in calls to fire Teresa Cheng
Mr Lo’s latest argument is that both the opposition and some lawmakers from the pro-establishment camp want Teresa Cheng to go.
He is of the view that short-term pain for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor in letting Cheng go is better than long-term suffering.
Could Mr Lo come up with more convincing grounds, such as case law that holds that an investor is guilty of an offence if a property acquired by that investor contains an unauthorised building work?
Or, alternatively, an investor is culpable if he or she fails to detect the existence of an unauthorised building work on an acquired property?
Mr Lo needs to prove that Cheng is guilty of an offence if his case is going to succeed.
For his part, Mr van der Kamp has alleged that Cheng thumbed her nose at our legislation – because she bought other properties in the name of a limited company, and may have taken advantage of a 19th century legal precedent, Salomon vs Salomon, that held that a limited company had a separate entity, so she was able to save millions in stamp duty when she bought a second property.
Could Mr van der Kamp enlighten readers, since when did legitimate tax planning become an offence?
Mr van der Kamp’s accusations ring hollow if he fails to prove that legitimate tax planning is prohibited by law.
Sam Wong, Chai Wan
Focus on claim of buying for the first time
K.L Pang, Central
More power to the #MeToo movement
Sexual abuse of the weak by the powerful happens in every corner of the world, whether in showbiz or sports, or even religious spaces. We should not tolerate such crimes only because the abusers are of a higher social status or authority figures.
People should continue to support the #MeToo movement, to stand up for the victims and for a safer, fairer society.
Natalie Chan, Sha Tin
Less gifted children may be left behind
Online classes can be a two-edged sword: a blessing for talented students, but less so for low-achieving ones. Intelligent students may gain more from online classes with experienced teachers. But for those less gifted, there can really be no substitute for live teaching.
Such children may have more questions and need more personalised guidance – difficult for an online teacher to provide. If they fail to keep up with peers, the point of going to school may be lost. Some may even lose interest with one-way online “knowledge inputs”.
Emily Leung, Tseung Kwan O
Knee-jerk reactions are no solution
However, I believe it is more important for the Hong Kong government to tackle the deep-rooted problems in the health care system, instead of adopting ad hoc measures when faced with seasonal flu outbreaks.
Our public hospitals have long been struggling with a manpower shortage. The need of the hour is to bring in overseas professionals, as well as nurturing our local manpower by providing more training courses for medical staff.
As the old saying goes, “Prevention is better than cure”.
Yoyo Wong, Kwai Chung