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SCMP Reporter

Q Should the Central Police Station complex be put on the World Heritage List?

Yes, it should. Opponents claim that it is not old enough, but I believe its historic value is not based on its age only.

It is not only a 'tourist attraction'. It plays a vital role in public education. Being one of the traditional British buildings, it represents a part of Hong Kong's history.

When we study our past, is it meaningful just to read books and look at photos, without having any direct experience?

Demolishing the police station would definitely reduce our chances of having a real taste of the past. If the government is indifferent to the station's preservation, I believe putting it on the World Heritage List is the only viable solution to saving it from destruction.

Fok Chun-kit, Mongkok

On other matters ...

I fully agree with the correspondent who complained about eating and drinking on the MTR. Five or so years ago, this was something you almost never saw. Nowadays, it's becoming more and more common. The worst thing is, the MTR staff seem completely oblivious to it. The thinking seems to be that placing small signs and making the occasional announcement is enough to deter people from doing it. You now see more and more people of all ages doing it openly and blatantly.

Although there is the vague threat of a fine, nobody ever thinks they'll get spotted, and as more people see others doing it and getting away with it, they'll do it too.

Why should we care? The MTR is one of the best systems in the world, not least because it's so clean. If the selfish eaters and drinkers continue to increase unchecked. Before you know it there will be rubbish and stale food everywhere, followed by rats, and serious health problems in a city which has already had its fair share of health scares. The MTR - and the bus companies, as  people do it on the buses in full view of drivers and nobody bats an eyelid - should take immediate harsh action to nip it in the bud. Some suggestions: Employ large numbers of plain-clothes staff to patrol trains frequently to start clamping down on people. Start actually enforcing the fines - plant staff at platform entrances to start challenging people taking food to the platforms. It's not difficult to do.

Increase the size of the posters and messages on trains and platforms to deliver the message that this has to stop. Unless the MTR acknowledges this serious issue now, it's goodbye to a nice clean MTR.

Chris Kyme, North Point

It is time that the dress worn by lawyers and judges was modernised.  Wigs and gowns do not endorse the rule of law which is firmly planted in Hong Kong. Judges in Hong Kong are, in fact, ordinary people who are performing their jobs, and should not require fancy dress to make them appear other than that.

If Prince Charles can be married in a civil ceremony, and the acting chief executive wear normal clothes why should judges be seen to be any different by dressing up as they do?

Some other countries that have the British legal system have long since discarded the cumbersome and ridiculous attire. We should be confident in our own constitutional and legal systems by now and not have to continue this outdated practice.

Daniel Evans, Mid-Levels

It is quite unbelievable that the Advisory Council on Aids (ACA) has no representation from the very groups it claims to represent. While it is the Hong Kong way to have ruling bodies made up of a hand-picked elite, at a time when we face a major public health crisis the people who are on the front line of the crisis should be the very ones who are taking an advisory role.

How can a council call itself 'advisory' when it shuts out those who can best advise.  Those most affected by Aids, and the NGOs working with them, should take on a full and proper role. The ACA's stated terms of reference include: 'to advise on the co-ordination and monitoring of programmes on the prevention of HIV infection and the provision of services to people with HIV/Aids in Hong Kong' - yet those best placed to do this are kept at arm's length.

The government claims that members of vulnerable groups would be too partisan, yet  there are ways to ensure this does not happen. And, certainly those groups and the sidelined NGOs have a broad and experienced overview of the situation which can only benefit the ACA. For the sake of the whole community, we can only hope common sense will prevail in appointing the new committee.

Janet Walker, Ap Lei Chau

Last year the government raised the fine for littering from $600 to $1,500. On Monday, July 4, on television evening news, professional  drivers were seen labelling  as 'unfair' an increase in the fine for driving through a red light from $450 to $600.

Evidently littering is a much more serious offence than dangerous driving.

Despite the fact that Hong Kong's system of traffic lights is the same as that in operation worldwide, drivers in 'Asia's World City' want to alter them to have flashing warning lights.

These are people who 'wash' into other vehicles when there is very little traffic on the road, or hit the divider when there isn't another vehicle within 200 metres, having quote, 'lost control'.

Instead of the staggering increase in the fine and the demerit points, perhaps a more suitable punishment for these drivers would be to be made to stay in after school and write out 100 times: 'I must not jump a red light if another vehicle or pedestrians are using the crossing.'

James Owen, Mongkok



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