I would like to add my support to Ken Bridgewater (South China Morning Post, April 6) and other correspondents who have pointed out the evils of age discrimination by bureaucrats in the public and private sectors in Hong Kong. Of course we all know that a person's capabilities decrease with advancing age, but they do so at different rates. These days many people live longer and remain fit longer. To draw a hard-and-fast line for retirement for everyone means inevitably a waste of talent and experience. Some people at 70 are far more alert and know much more than many others at 60. Every case should be tested and decided individually. It makes sense that a person wishing to drive after 70 should have to undergo a medical examination in accordance with government regulations. But if that individual passes the test and is then refused the necessary third-party insurance by the private sector so that it's still impossible to drive a car, surely that is nonsense. Hong Kong is facing challenges and will need all the talent available. It is high time we took a serious new look at attitudes and regulations which prevent capable and fit people from working just because they have reached a certain age. ANTHONY LAWRENCE Pokfulam
