In the letter headlined 'Home, sweet home' (South China Morning Post, March 29), your correspondent talks about the helpful people of Hong Kong. In a sad attempt to 'strengthen' a story that does not need it, he points out that if the incident he described about when he fell ill had happened in California, people would have ignored him as a drunk and taken his wallet, watch and clothes. I attended secondary school in Hong Kong, have lived in California for more than 40 years, and for the past 14 years, have divided my time between Hong Kong and California. I have no idea which California the writer is talking about. Perhaps the California created in his mind by reading the newspaper? Has he had this experience? My Hong Kong-born and -raised assistant emigrated to California last year to work in my office there and loves the state so much that I have a tough time coaxing her back to Hong Kong a couple of times each year. But does she bad mouth Hong Kong? No, because she is mature enough to realise that if your attitude in life is such that you are looking for negatives, you will always find them. Lastly, I have never heard of anyone accusing Hong Kong of being unsafe. In what part of Hong Kong do they hang out? Perhaps in a place similar to the one the writer visited in California? RONALD M.S. PARK Central