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SCMP Reporter

Q Do you think Hongkongers have an unhealthy lifestyle?

Hong Kong is a city where every minute counts. This causes Hongkongers to walk fast, eat fast and so on. Everywhere in Hong Kong is filled with stress.

In my opinion, Hongkongers are too busy. This leads to an unbalanced diet where fast food is a regular feature and leaves them with no time to do any regular exercise.

People have to spend so much time at work that it creates an unhealthy lifestyle.

How can Hongkongers change this unhealthy lifestyle? In my opinion, first, employers should ask their staff not to work overtime so often. And employees should bring their own lunch boxes. Second, they ought to do exercise regularly before they go to work. Third, they should not eat irregularly so that they can have a balanced diet.

It's simple. Hongkongers should take action now to raise their health standards.

Ip Lai Yu, Choi Hung

Everyone knows that Hong Kong is one of the most prosperous cities in the world. With this in mind, we would think Hongkongers would have a good lifestyle and be clued in about the right food to eat and the exercise they should take.

But many people only want to eat delicious food, which makes them overweight easily because they are consuming more and more fat from the many delicious foods that are on offer in our city.

In our schools, some students are obese. Most of them have an unhealthy diet and go to fast food restaurants for lunch  where they eat meals containing lots of fat.

Obesity is a serious problem in society because many people have an unhealthy style. They sleep a lot and eat a lot and abstain from exercise.

The health pyramid from our school's biology book states we should consume more carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, protein and fibre but little fat.

Good health can be as simple as the healthy pyramid.

Shun Lee

Q How can the city best 'green' urban areas?

When the government is talking about greening the urban environment, I want to ask if it means just a bit of cosmetic work or if it really means business?

Does it have a vision in mind? Is it prepared to sacrifice business for a better quality of life?

The best greening would be done with money. Without this, nothing is possible. The government can learn from what most Europeans are doing and what delights visitors so much. They hang potted plants outside flat windows and off lamp posts. It may sound silly, as nowadays most buildings have windows that cannot be opened or are closed all year round, but what the government can do is build a little concrete extension outside every old building.

And for new buildings, they can insist such extensions be included in the blueprint before they are approved.

These little concrete beds for plants should have water pipes leading to them so the plants can be sprayed with water, liquid fertilisers and insecticides.

The kinds of plants should be chosen and provided by the experts working in the government. They should be plants that would not endanger the structure of the building and are easy to maintain.

I have seen this design in quite a few government buildings in Tsuen Wan, some hotels and on big private estates.

Some of these plants are managed by the flat owners themselves and some centrally by the management.

I am happy that many residents in the estate I live in are making good use of the flower beds and greening my place.

I know, the whole thing may seem like too much work. But that is just because our government was too short-sighted when it uprooted almost all the trees and plants in our city in its haste to develop it in the early years. Remedial work is always painful and slow. But it is a price we must pay.

Just as Tung Chee-hwa was willing to subsidise taxi drivers to shift to use cleaner fuel to improve the quality of our air, so  our new leader must take more drastic action to green our city

and make our home more beautiful.

Zachary Ng Kwok-keung, Mei Foo

Q Should overpaid welfare families be required to return the money?

In my point of view, it is the fault of the Social Welfare Department, not the overpaid families.

In another words, I think the overpaid families should not bear the responsibility  of repaying the disability allowances to the government. The welfare officials should pay for the mistakes.

First of all, the government did not  make the guidelines of the Disability Allowance Scheme clear enough to the applicants.

And although the parents have admitted  their children were studying in the city's only boarding school under the Education and Manpower Bureau for blind children, the officers still approved their application for the high disability allowance.

It is highly inefficient that the welfare officials failed to spot the problem when all the applicants were required to renew their applications every three years. Now they  expect the families to repay the overpayment. That's ridiculous!

I think the department should learn from the mistakes. To avoid any similar events, I suggest the Social Welfare Department  has a seminar  every year to clearly explain the guidelines to the parents who want to apply for the allowance, and at the same time, they should carefully determine the type of allowance for each different family.

Name and address supplied

Q Should the rules be tightened on the location of betting centres?

There is no reason for the rules being tightened on the location of betting centres.

Some people may say that if those centres are located near schools it may affect  students. But we should realise that no one can enter betting centres if they are not 18.

And the teachers can teach their students how to avoid becoming gambling addicts.

If students really want to gamble they will,  no matter how far away the shop is. Therefore location has no effect.

Also, if the rules of the location of betting centres become too tight, it may decrease our government's tax revenue. If the location is obscure, how will the Jockey Club will be able to profit?

Eventually, the government's income will be affected. And then we will all miss out. Although it may be inconvenient for the residents who live near those betting centres, moving them means  inconveniencing gamblers.

So somewhere along the line, someone will have to lose out.

The location of betting centres should no big deal. We should always be careful about making decisions that will disturb Hong Kong's market economy.

Name and address supplied

On other matters...

I am very disappointed with the MTR's ban on commuters from taking bikes on its trains. This shows a complete lack of understanding for the few avid cyclists who have made the effort to enjoy this healthy pursuit.

The MTR's statement on its website about supporting the quality of life of the people of Hong Kong now rings a bit hollow. I have always found cyclists who use public transport to get to their ride locations on Hong Kong's safer roads to be most accommodating of fellow passengers and I've never heard of anyone complaining of their presence, or the safety of transporting bikes this way.

I hope management recognises that this was a poor decision and revokes the ban immediately.

Name and address supplied

I think the World Trade Organisation meeting to be held in Hong Kong will make the city more famous, but I also think it will bring lots of trouble. Some Hong Kong people always find a way to shout out what they want, and when the WTO is held there will be a lot of protesters making use of a chance to express their wishes. Some from other countries will come to Hong Kong to protest too.

But I think it is unnecessary to block the roads or close the schools on Hong Kong Island. If they do that, it will make more trouble and many people would dislike this. People would think that the Hong Kong Government doesn't let  citizens express their own feelings.

Cheng Ching-Yee, Tai Po



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