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SCMP Reporter

Q Should Wedding Card Street be saved?

Hong Kong, don't sell your soul! History enforces a feeling of community bonds, historical association and a sense of belonging. If you fill the city with shiny new things, how can we feel 'at home', when 'home' changes its appearance every few years?

Hong Kong needs to embrace its history and give it back to the people in the form of small museums,  cafes and  traditional teahouses, water gardens and grass - somewhere we can feel proud to take our visitors.

A snippet of old HK in the heart of the new! A Fangbang Street (Shanghai), The Rocks (Sydney) etc.

You can only buy so many Gucci handbags. New is only new until it's old - and in this city that takes about 10 years.  Hong Kong should stop and look at what the world's successful cities are doing.

J. Peel, Tsim Sha Tsui

The main aim of redeveloping a place is to make it flourish. But why do we still insist on renewing this area when it is already well known?

Given the long history of Lee Tung Street and the old buildings on it, rehabilitation is far better than redevelopment.  It is unwise for the government to use huge amounts of taxation on the redevelopment programme.

Careful consideration is needed before any redevelopment proposal is carried out.

Cathy Tse Yuk-lin, Tsuen Wan

Different cities have different cultures and history. Wedding Card Street represents Hong Kong's living history.  It absolutely should be saved from urban renewal.

Some may argue that clearance of slums is inevitable,  but to attract tourists, the historic street could be turned into a scenic spot or tourist attraction.  It is quite unique to Hong Kong and of interest to tourists.

Many countries are putting much effort into conserving their historical cultures. It is difficult to imagine why the government is so cruel as to damage our traditional values. Given the rapid pace of urban development, Wedding Card Street is even more valuable, so it should be saved.

Jodie Wan Yuen-tung, Tsuen Wan

Q Should Hong Kong women lower their standards to find a husband?

There is no need for women to lower their standards. Absence of marriage does not mean that life is meaningless. Women should be loyal to themselves. If there is really no man suitable, then stay single. The same applies to men.

Eric Tsui Kwok-fung, Shamshuipo

On other matters...

So CNN does not say it has sacked 10 staff, only that it has embarked on a 'redeployment of resources'.

News is topical information conveyed by the 'languages' of sound, pictures and print. If CNN chooses to distort language in this way, I recommend that everyone 'redeploy their channel switch' to get their news elsewhere.

Name and address supplied

There are now only two ways to get to the giant Buddha on Lantau. Blue taxis cost $150 one way from Tung Chung. The New Lantau Bus Company's  monopoly  sets you back $25 on Sundays, and takes close to an hour, after the queuing. The cable car, with its $60 round trip and 20 minute scenic ride will make 1.5 million people a year very happy. And  the bus firm is doomed to lose almost all its business.

To remedy this,  the bus company  has been busy, and successful, in lobbying the Highways Department to upgrade Tung Chung Road.  At a  cost of $630 million to taxpayers, the upgrade, in the form of a 3km re-alignment across South Lantau Country Park, remains controversial.

Its justification relies on road safety issues and congestion,  which will be  alleviated once the cable car is operational.

When objectors to the new road pointed this out to the Transport Department they were stunned by the response.

The department did not anticipate a traffic reduction  and  saw a need to increase the road capacity once the cable car was operational, in case of emergencies. This is a joke, since evacuation would be most effective via other routes in an emergency.

It also maintains dubious double standards, insisting the Mass Transit Railway Corporation's construction minimises environmental damage, with the 8 cable car towers being airlifted in, while on the other side of the hill up to 10,000 trees will be destroyed for the new road. Isn't that just typical of our government?

Cathy Coroneos, Lantau

Having watched  the bare-staged production of Fidelio,  I am tempted to question the selection committee's purpose in bringing such a skeletal show to Hong Kong.  Was this bare-faced chic? As another person who heard my comments said:  'Well it's okay if you just close your eyes and listen.' For that I can buy a CD.

I have no problem with minimalist staging; I've seen superb operas where thoughtful use of lighting, movement and the barest of essentials made pure magic. This show  had little of that, in fact it seemed more like a rehearsal.  Komische Oper Berlin's  programme notes did little to explain its deliberate choice.

Am I alone in feeling  cheated? The purpose of staging a production is surely to engage the audience with the text and the music;  to give fresh insights. Simplicity in staging requires  work on  voices and stage direction.

Why doesn't the selection committee look at the productions offered by Opera Australia? Vibrant, imaginative and  edgy at times. It's on our doorstep. I'm not Australian,  but I am a lover of great opera and exciting productions.

Brenda Scofield, The Peak



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