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SCMP Reporter

Q Should use of illicit encoding and decoding devices be outlawed?

I fully understand the support you are giving to the cable operators through your editorial. I acknowledge your stance against any form of illicit trade.

But  there is a reason why people are  flocking to get illegal decoders.

The price of Cable TV subscription is exorbitant. In other countries, such as India, sports programmes can be viewed without extra fees like those charged by Cable TV. In India, we need only pay the equivalent of $17.50 a month for the entire 40 channels, and all sports, even heavyweight boxing, are included.

In Hong Kong, Cable TV charges $150 for major fights if you book two days beforehand, and $200 closer to the event. Many customers feel Cable TV is ripping us off. This is why people are flocking to illegal decoders.

Cable TV keeps bidding more for the coverage of Premier League soccer, Grand Slam tennis, etc. This needs to be stopped. Matches that were previously seen free on ATV and TVB should be available for all viewers. Customers like me would be happy to see the downfall of giants like Cable TV and pay-per-view channels.

These corporations use the power of their money to get the rights to broadcast major sports and then pass on the cost to viewers.

My  block of flats, next to the Miramar Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, is unable to receive Cable TV.  I applied for a Cable TV connection six years ago, but, for reasons known only to themselves, they still have not provided one.

If I had the opportunity to obtain an illegal decoder which would work in my building, I would definitely go for it.

Would Cable TV respond to these issues?

Name and address supplied

Q Should Legco support the new anti-smoking package?

I don't think so. Why is it not possible to enforce provisions for non-smoking areas in bars, and make restaurants smoke-free? That way non-smokers and families can dine unmolested by secondhand smoke while those who choose to enjoy the combination of nicotine and alcohol can continue doing so in their designated areas.

I am sure I will give up smoking one day. In the meantime, the prospect of not being able to even go from dinner to drinks with a post-prandial smoke is very much resented. A blanket ban would certainly not encourage me to stop smoking - I would simply meet friends for dinner in their homes rather than restaurants. One of the reasons I left Singapore was the smoking ban. As I pay my taxes, don't cost the public health system anything and don't smoke near non-smokers or diners, I would find a ban an unfair intrusion.

Sophie Pasha

Legco must have the courage to support the anti-smoking package now.

My family was fortunate enough to spend the Christmas holiday in a tropical paradise (well away from the effects of the earthquake and tsunami) with a wonderful climate, fresh air, clear seawater, coconut palms and soft sand, at a resort with excellent food and facilities.

However, we were in China. Therefore, the meals in the restaurants were spoiled by cigarette smoke, the beaches and gardens were heavily littered with cigarette butts and empty packets, there were foul-smelling ashtrays by the pool, and there was a trail of cigarette ash and cigarette burns in various places.

The number of smokers in Hong Kong is likely to increase as more mainland tourists come here, and it will become increasingly difficult to introduce smoking bans as the restaurant and bar owners make even greater pleas that their businesses will be affected ('Think again on ban, plead restaurants and bars', City, January 5).

The only solution is to create a level playing field as quickly as possible with the strongest of measures to discourage smoking and a complete ban on smoking in all indoor public places. Since non-smokers make up the majority of the population, the government would instantly raise its popularity rating.

Hong Kong likes to be at the top of league tables - so how about being the first place in the world in 2005 to become a paradise for non-smokers?

Esther Morris, Mid-Levels

Q Should youth be entitled to unbiased advice on sexuality?

I'm writing to respond to Reggie Ho's Talkback letter on January 4.  Young people have every right to unbiased advice on sexuality.

Mr Ho complains about providing counselling to homosexuals who ask for it. But homosexuals have just as much right to determine their future as anybody else. Mr Ho fails to report the scientific evidence given at the recent Restoring Sexual Wholeness Workshop.

One of the workshops he expressed concern about was on gender identity disorder.

I do not understand why Mr Ho now asks for the scientific evidence linking this disorder to a specific sexual orientation.

Mr Ho should have seen the slide taken from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition. Taken from page 539, it clearly states: 'By late adolescence or adulthood, about three-quarters of boys who had a childhood history of gender identity disorder report a homosexual or bisexual orientation.'

Mr Ho both heard and saw the presentation, and yet he still asks for scientific evidence. Without giving any counter evidence, it is truly unprofessional and ridiculous to insist that homosexual orientation is absolutely unrelated to gender identity disorder.

Sean Yu, Shamshuipo



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