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SCMP Reporter

Q What do you think of the Tsim Sha Tsui improvement plans?

I find it extraordinary that despite much talk of Hong Kong's lack of a world-class concert hall, the government's plan for the Tsim Sha Tsui development does not contain any scheme to have one built.

The concert halls at the Cultural Centre have technologies and designs that belong to the 1960s and 1970s.

Halls in the Convention and Exhibition Centre, although used to stage concerts for lack of alternatives, are not designed for such activities.

How can music be properly enjoyed in an environment with such lousy acoustics?

Musicians have previously staged concerts and shows in other cities in Asia without coming to Hong Kong. The lack of proper facilities was an important reason why Hong Kong lost out.

How can Hong Kong claim to be a world-class international city when its own concert halls are third-rate?

Benson Fung, Causeway Bay

When I read your article on the proposals for improving pedestrian movement in Tsim Sha Tsui, I thought it must have been April 1.

To see the words 'Transport Department' and 'priority for pedestrians' in the same sentence seemed like a sick joke.

This department has spent the past five or six years dreaming up ways of reducing pavements in this area and making it as difficult as possible for pedestrians to move around at ground level. I would like to think that the proposals would have some chance of becoming a reality but, with the department involved, I would not hold my breath.

Michael Ryan, Tsim Sha Tsui

Q Would you be prepared to report  a minibus driver for speeding?

Yes, I would if I thought there was any likelihood of action being taken as a result.

However, my recent experiences have left me very disenchanted.

This year I have reported three boats for speeding in a speed-restricted zone, and a bus for careless driving (the driver came out of a side street without looking, and I only narrowly avoided a collision). The police response to the speeding violations was merely to write to the offenders but to take no further action.

With the careless-driving matter, the police actually asked me to drop the complaint! So my view now is, 'why bother?'

Ian Hardee, Central

I am not alone in having witnessed the frankly wild driving of public minibuses on a daily basis during my commute to and from work.

The speeds they reach and their mad lane-cutting on, for example, Prince Edward Road or Lion Rock Tunnel Road would put stunt drivers (and even taxi drivers) to shame, yet these examples of their crazy driving practices are well known to frequent users of these roads.

I have recently become victim to one of these wild minibus drivers, who, in a reckless attempt to squeeze into my lane at the last moment, slammed into the side of my car.

Unfortunately, it is not only through bad driving that minibuses afflict our city. The minibus that does not spew clouds of deadly black smoke from its exhaust has now seemingly become the exception rather than the rule.

It simply defies logic how so many of these toxic-gas-producing vehicles can pass their annual inspections.

I acknowledge  that minibuses are a necessary evil in Hong Kong, providing a mode of public transport where regular buses and trains do not reach.

However, the least we can do as a society should be to limit the damage they are doing (or have the potential to do) to other road users and citizens.

Allowing the public to report offenders is one way of doing this, and should take some of the burden of policing offences off the shoulders of overworked policemen.

After all, penalties are meaningless if the offender is not prosecuted.

The government may consider prominent advertising of a complaints hotline for the public to call. One particular idea would be to boldly print the hotline number on the back of every minibus with the advice 'Please call this hotline if this vehicle is producing black smoke, speeding, or being driven in a dangerous manner'.

Alan Sihoe, Prince Edward

Q Have you been directly affected  by air pollution?

Has Hong Kong really made progress in addressing the pollution problem? I think not.

If Secretary for Environment, Transport and Works Sarah Liao Sau-tung made  a visit to Beach Road in Repulse Bay on any given day, she would  see at least 15 to 20 stationary tourist buses with their engines running, creating pollution to an unbearable degree for the residents in Repulse Bay and South Bay.

This is not my first letter of complaint but it seems nothing has been done about this. If this small pollution problem cannot be dealt with efficiently by the Environmental Protection Department, how do we expect them to deal with the big problem?

Vanessa Hui, South Bay

Q Should the government pass laws to control spam?

I totally support this suggestion. The government must introduce legislation to control spam.

Spam is getting worse, as the volume has risen dramatically around the world. If we cannot stop spamming, it will weaken Hong Kong, which has already fallen behind countries with legislation in place against spam. To stop the problem getting worse, imposing anti-spam legislation is consistent with international best practice.

Anti-spam legislation would send a message to Hong Kong citizens that junk e-mailing is unacceptable behaviour. It would also send a message to the world that Hong Kong will not tolerate spammers. However, legislation is not the only solution.

I believe educational and technological solutions are also important. I hope the government moves quickly in developing and implementing anti-spam legislation.

Tracy Au, Kwun  Tong

On other matters ...

I refer to Jean Afford's e-mail yesterday  regarding Poppy Day. I am sorry that she was unable to find any poppy sellers last Saturday.

As a charity with a small number of staff, we are solely reliant on volunteers to act as sellers and, try as hard as we might, there are always some areas that slip through the net.

With regard to publicity, as we do not receive any money from the Hong Kong or British governments or the Community Chest, the money we have to continue our work is derived from what we raise on Poppy Day through poppy sales or donations. Our budget for publicity is therefore very limited and we rely a great deal on magazines such as Dollarsaver, Town Crier and, this year, BC Magazine and HK Magazine, which allow us to advertise either  free or at a considerable discount.

While it could be argued that spending more on advertising could heighten awareness and bring in more income, we have to keep our expenses down in order to continue our work.

As Ms Afford rightly points out, Remembrance Day is a day to remember all those who died in war and each year we try to emphasise this by giving talks to any schools which are interested.

Indeed, many young people do not know the significance of a poppy or what Remembrance Day is.

We welcome any comments, positive or negative - and, in the case of Ms Afford's letter, pointing out  areas which our sellers have missed, or we could not cover as no one living nearby volunteered - so we can do better next year.

Jack Edwards, chairman Royal British Legion (Hong Kong and China Branch)

Canto-pop singer Andy Lau Tak-wah went to sing at Stanley Prison to entertain the prisoners on October 30. Later, he told the prisoners and the press that some of his office staff were former inmates ('Canto-pop star jams with jailhouse rockers', November 1).

How could Lau have revealed this information about his staff? This has already damaged the reputation of his staff whose identity and confidential information should not have been revealed to the public.

The affected staff should lodge a complaint with the Privacy Commission.

Their future could have been put in jeopardy because of Lau's revelations.

K. M. Nasir, Mid-Levels



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