A BRIEF story that should do wonders for everyone's faith in and admiration of Hongkong and its people as we settle into the Year of the Rooster.

Suspecting that the traffic light at the bottom of the flyover leading from Pokfulam Road on to Connaught Road might be out of synchronisation, as it was causing a long traffic jam even before the morning rush-hour, I rang the Transport Department and was immediately put in touch with the person responsible for that particular traffic light.

After politely telling me he would look into my inquiry, he rang back later that afternoon to say that he had indeed found a problem and had corrected it. Just to make sure he said he would position an engineer at the spot the following morning to ensurethat the traffic was flowing freely.

Sure enough, as I drove to work on Friday morning, I found the traffic light working perfectly and no congestion on the flyover.