bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

Q What must Hong Kong do to stay off the Sars list?

Yesterday was a day for Hong Kong to rejoice - it is no longer a Sars-affected area. However, government officials are still seen to be infected by another version of Sars - 'Special Administrative Region Syndrome'.

Tourism is the major source of income for Hong Kong, and no one is denying that. However, with the current economic situation, should we spend $1 billion in the hope that it will revive the industry? Have the officials been following the news for the past two months? Does the word 'Toronto' mean anything to them?

Tourists stopped coming to Hong Kong, not because it is not an attractive city but because they were afraid of Sars. We don't need to splurge on telling the world how beautiful Hong Kong is - everyone knows that Hong Kong is the place to be. What we need is to assure tourists that we are a hygienic city with the ability to respond in case of another outbreak. The money should be spent on more hospital equipment and better health education, or even a new hospital.

We have fought Sars well, but we need to fight even harder against the 'Special Administrative Region Syndrome' because it is just as lethal as Sars, if not more. Symptoms include near-sightedness, complacency and self-denial.

Yvonne Yuen, North Point

Q How should Hong Kong dispose of its waste?

The waste disposal problem in Hong Kong is hardly new, and the movement against waste incineration was launched years ago. While the government, green groups, politicians and the public debate vigorously, one important group seems to be missing from the scene  - the producers.

Just open your rubbish bin at home. A lot of the waste is packaging, plastic bottles, cans and plastic bags.  Much of the plastic is non-recyclable.

For recyclable plastic,  the current recycling rate in Hong Kong is a pitifully low 3 per cent, despite more than 22,000 recycling bins in place throughout the city.

Who should be held responsible? Do not only blame consumers. Consumers in a way are 'passive polluters' as there are too few products with minimal packaging in the market.

I think producers should take a much larger role in waste reduction by minimising product packaging and actively organising recycling programmes. Take plastic bottles. They can be recycled to become raw material. Yet there are 'bottlenecks' in the recycling industry that inhibit the large-scale collection of plastic bottles, including high transportation and labour costs.

Can our beverage industry take some social responsibility by offering assistance to recycle a portion of the two billion plastic bottles being dumped into our landfills every year? Unfortunately, publicity over the years has created a misconception that waste reduction and recycling are merely the responsibility of the government and the general public.

It's time to bring our producers back to the forefront of waste reduction, before our landfills are full.

Henry Ho, environmental affairs manager, Friends of the Earth (HK)

On other matters ...

Having just returned to Hong Kong after being away on business for a while, I have noticed that the fine for littering has been raised from $600 to $1,500. I wonder what the use of this rise is if we do not really enforce the law.

Just in the area where I live and work I still see a lot of rubbish and litterers going about their business. The only laws we are enforcing, just like anywhere else it seems, are the traffic laws, as culprits  are easily identifiable.

We either take a picture of them speeding or write a ticket when they are parked wrongly. It makes easy money for the government too. I hope that  the government really starts enforcing these laws, as they also should do with anti-triad laws (among others), which only seem to be enforced when triads insult the police. I have never insulted a police officer, but they are ready with their speeding/parking ticket anytime.

Jeffry Kuperus, Repulse Bay

I can well understand Robert Chua's frustration at not getting a reply from the Team Clean campaign troupe (June 23, South China Morning Post).

On April 25, I e-mailed a short proposal to the Tourism Commission and asked for advice on who best to talk to. To help get tourism back on track post-Sars, I suggested a video competition for tourists and residents. Prizes could be flight refunds and tickets, as well as video-editing products.

I also wanted the commission to view a Hong Kong travel video made by a tourist last year, which won a video competition in Australia.

On May 5, having not heard from the commission, I called the Hong Kong Tourism Board to ask if it had seen my e-mail. No, it hadn't. I learned the commission and board were totally separate bodies and did not usually communicate, so it was unlikely they would pass anything on.

Therefore, I resent my e-mail to the tourism board. Nothing, so on May 15 I sent another e-mail to both parties. Not a dicky bird from either until, on May 20, I received an e-mail from the Tourism Board apologising for not replying sooner.  It also said it greatly appreciated the initiative, would keep the proposal on record, and would contact me if any opportunity arose. Mmm ... really? Like Robert Chua, perhaps it is best to take any ideas to Shanghai, Singapore or some other emerging world-class city.

And I still haven't heard anything from the commission. They have more important stuff to do than answer nuisance e-mails, I guess.

Richard Entwistle, Tuen Mun



Talkback