I was very distressed to read that the MTR Corporation will be building a cable car link between Tung Chung and Po Lin Monastery (South China Morning Post, July 4). Tourism Commissioner Rebecca Lai Ko Wing-yee says the design will 'preserve the tranquil atmosphere' of this area of Lantau. Who is she trying to kid? It is simply not credible to assert that a 5.5km cable car line, a theme village, shops, restaurants and crowds of day trippers will not destroy the environment. These facilities seem highly inappropriate in the vicinity of a sacred building where worshippers go for quiet contemplation. I would like the government to answer, through these columns, why it has decided to allow the construction of a hideous cable car line in the middle of a country park. The Hong Kong government seems to feel it has a god-given right to destroy what little remains of our countryside. I would like to remind Tung Chee-hwa and his government that Hong Kong does not belong to them. Furthermore, since we are unable to elect our leaders, they have no right to make these sorts of decisions on our behalf. This project demonstrates that the government has no respect for the environment and is prepared to destroy it by allowing corporations to line their own pockets at our expense. What will they leave for future generations? According to Buddhist teaching, all worldly things are illusion and impermanent. Sadly, for most of us, the cable car and the other tawdry developments on Lantau will be neither of these things. Y. CHAN Tung Chung