I was disappointed, though not surprised, to read that Beijing has dismissed as 'totally untenable' the Dalai Lama's request for greater autonomy for Tibet, like that of Hong Kong and Macau ('Dalai Lama under fire over call for autonomy', May 24). A white paper issued by the State Council said the situation in Tibet is entirely different from that in those two cities. It said: 'The central government has always exercised effective sovereign jurisdiction over the region of Tibet'. This claim is ridiculous. Historically, Tibet has always been an independent and sovereign nation. Testimony to this can be found engraved in stone in both Chinese and Tibetan at the Jokhang temple in Tibet. It bears witness to the treaty concluded by Tibet and China, separate states, in 821. Despite this treaty, the Manchus invaded Tibet in 1910 but were driven out in the winter of 1911-1912. This was the last foreign army to be stationed on Tibetan soil until the invasion by China in 1949-1950. Following this invasion, the International Commission of Jurists stated in a report: 'The events of 1911-1912 mark the re-emergence of Tibet as a fully sovereign state, independent in fact, and law, of Chinese control'. Ever since the occupation, there has been a constant flow of reports of human rights abuses in Tibet from groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. As a previously sovereign state, Tibet has at least as much right to a high degree of autonomy as Hong Kong and Macau. BILL BYRNE, Sha Tin UN for Hong Kong I support a suggestion that was made some time ago that the Hong Kong government offer to build Far East offices of the United Nations on the still little-used land of our former airport. The UN has an important presence in Geneva and elsewhere in Europe, which has brought many benefits, particularly to Switzerland and Austria. As the future belongs to Asia, we should give serious consideration now to hosting the UN in Hong Kong. MOUSTAPHA SAKKAF, Mid-Levels Fair and even-handed Recently, the Securities and Futures Commission has come in for criticism. Some of this may be justified, but based on its past performance, the SFC has done pretty well. Like everyone else in the industry, the SFC is struggling to come to grips with the realities of a regulatory regime which commenced on April 1 last year. Overall, it appears to have exercised its new disciplinary powers in a fair and even-handed manner. Unfortunately, when confronted with criticism in a particular case, the SFC is often powerless to defend itself without breaching personal privacy laws and the secrecy provisions which necessarily surround its work. If I had to judge, I would place my faith in an organisation which, with the stock exchange, maintained stability in the market in the turbulent years around 1998, and which, time and again, has shown itself to be led by honest and competent individuals. KEVIN PATTERSON, Jardine's Lookout Wan Chai redesign I refer to John Wong's letter (June 2) about the URA's development concept competition for the Lee Tung Street/Mcgregor Street project in Wan Chai. To clarify, the competition covers the whole project site and its surrounding area, totally about two hectares, not just part of Lee Tung Street where the wedding card shops are located. Two of the five winning entries contain interesting proposals of conservation for Lee Tung Street. The entry from Peter Cookson Smith, mentioned by Mr Wong, is not the only one with such a proposal. The contents of the winning entries will not be used for a cut-and-paste exercise to come up with the master design. The competition's purpose is to seek ideas and concepts as food for thought for our future layout and design, which will be carried out with a holistic approach. EDDIE SO, general manager, external relations, Urban Renewal Authority Freer than Singapore Wee Kek Koon can rest assured: I do not live in a naive and puritan world ('Of bribery, blackmail', June 7). Campaign promises indeed are not blackmail or bribery, at least if the results are delivered to all voters. So Singapore's ruling party told voters that opposition-held districts would be at the end of the queue for government benefits. He calls this bad politics. I call it blackmail. Mr Wee says the New Territories elections are under the influence of triads. From what I know, these elections are not clean. However, this does not justify the way Singapore handles elections. We all know that Hong Kong does not have democratic elections. As long as there is no free speech in Singapore, you will have elections where all can vote, but they are not free or democratic. I prefer living in non-democratic Hong Kong, which has free speech and where we can openly oppose our government, to living in 'democratic' Singapore, where I have to watch what I say about the government. JEFFRY KUPERUS, Clear Water Bay Gurkhas' D-Day It was the Gurkhas' great privilege and honour to watch, on television, the D-Day ceremony ('The world remembers its Longest Day', June 6). Since British India, the Gurkhas have served the British with honesty, loyalty and bravery in wars all around the world, including the first and second world wars. But the Gurkha soldiers have never enjoyed the same benefits in promotion, pay and pensions as their British counterparts. We lost a discrimination case in the high court of London because of our race and nationality. After spending 110 million Nepali rupees (HK$12 million) and #500,000 (HK$7 million) of hard-earned money of our soldiers and UK taxpayers, we do not want to go through an expensive court case again. Therefore, we ask Queen Elizabeth II and her government to end 200 years of racial discrimination and human rights violations against the Gurkha soldiers and their families by the UK. YAM GURUNG (Rtd), British army, Kathmandu One God, many forms I refer to the article headlined 'Locks horror!', by Paul Vallely (May 29). Vallely has erroneously written that Hinduism is a polytheistic religion. It is not. Polytheism is defined as the worship of 'many, equal gods'. On the other hand, Hinduism is both monotheistic and henotheistic. Hindus believe there is one God but he appears in different forms. The article spoke about the 10 incarnations of Vishnu, but all are of the one God. Hinduism allows the worshipper to approach God in his own way, encouraging a multiplicity of paths. Hindus do not believe in exclusivism. This is why it is easy for them to accept the truth in each religion. NIRMAL LAUNGANI, Sheung Wan 'Vandalism' at the Peak Over the years I have watched in despair the degradation of the Peak at the hands of government departments, utilities workers and greedy developers. It has become a tacky theme park. Slopes have been covered in unsightly concrete, trees are butchered left, right and centre, and road surfaces are appalling due to incessant trenchwork. And the area has become marred by bog-standard architecture. Now, to cap it all, Sun Hung Kai Properties has erected a giant billboard - only slightly more subtle than Los Angeles' Hollywood sign - to promote a development on Severn Road. Clearly visible from the other side of the harbour, it cuts a swathe through the lush green. How can the company get away with such vandalism? DEBBIE BARNES, the Peak
