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SCMP Reporter

Q Should ambulance calls be graded according to urgency?

I can understand why the government needs to implement this new policy. Emergency services are commonly abused.  This has added to the burden of frontline  rescue workers, which on average slows down their response time to real emergencies. However, I have my worries too. Who will judge which calls are emergencies?

Are the people who call responsible for describing the condition of the sufferers, and can the staff manning the emergency call centre make an accurate assessment on that basis.

Isn't this a risky policy?

Amy Chow, Wong Tai Sin

Q How can we keep Hong Kong clean?

Here are three typical examples of people in this world city of ours.

Scene 1: I attended a compulsory hygiene managers' course organised by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and Polytechnic University for people working in the food and beverage industry.

We had 40 people in the class and up to 80 per cent of us were owners or managers.

Throughout the  course, I witnessed people coming in late (very late, more than an hour), talking on their phones, sleeping and, worst of all, complaining that such a course was a waste of time and nothing could be done to make things better simply because this is Hong Kong.

Another very popular statement was, 'if this course was not made compulsory we wouldn't be here'.

Scene 2: A young family of four having a day out in Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui. The boy, aged about  seven, took out his chewing gum and was heading to one of the rubbish bins.

While trying to put it in the bin, he dropped it on the ground. He wanted to pick it up but his dad stopped him and said: 'Don't worry about it, they've got someone to pick up rubbish.'

Scene 3: A man fishing by the Star Ferry pier in Tsim Sha Tsui  throws plastic bags into the harbour right in front of two  FEHD officers.

I signalled to both the officers, but to my horror they pretended not to see us or anything that had happened. Slowly they turned and walked away.

A group of tourists just couldn't believe what happened.

We will never keep Hong Kong clean,  not with this attitude. Our government has a very negative attitude. Sadly, so do a lot of Hong Kong residents.

Does Team Clean really believe that it will take only a few months to make Hong Kong clean?

Hong Kong, we must  change our attitude. Then, there will be hope.

C.K. Wong, Ap Lei Chau

On other matters ...

I am writing to refer to the report about youngsters having to work for their families (City, November 21).

Research by the Society for Community Organisation revealed 84 child workers under 15 in Shamshuipo. What does the number tell us?

Something should be changed.

Collecting cardboard and aluminium cans are not only the lot of poor elders, but also that  of some children who come from low-income or single-parent families. Some children under 15 have to work to earn money for their families. This is because their families can't provide what the children need.

Why do so many children have to work in Hong Kong, a city which has been called a financial centre?

I don't understand.

I always hear of fares for everything increasing, but the situation for low-income families has not  improved.

I think this is unreasonable in Hong Kong. I hope the government will face  up to these problems immediately, because  the war between wealth and poverty is a long one.

Name and address supplied

What is it with your paper and Disneyland HK?

The amount of space you have given to the goings-on of this theme park is, in my opinion, puzzling and boring. For instance, in your November 21 issue, both the main and the City sections had Disneyland stories on their front pages.

Are there no more newsworthy stories in town that you could spare four reporters to count the number of visitors going through the park's turnstiles on two separate days?

And what does that achieve? By your own editorial admission: 'It would be wrong to read too much into the results'.

Taking into account seasonal factors, the government's figure of 15,000 is not unreasonable when your raw data was 12,972 and 11,399 for Sunday and Wednesday respectively.

The park's maximum capacity is 30,000. If they get close to that number, your paper will no doubt print countless numbers of articles criticising them for long queues.

As a 'stakeholder' I'm asking you to please give Disneyland some breathing space so they can devote more time to improving business and less time managing the negative publicity you're creating for them.

Instead, please devote your resources to more pressing issues such as  underage binge drinking. These are very important matters, not just for parents with teenagers but for the community at large.

I asked several of my friends, all with children, and only one had seen the article.

Don't our teenagers  deserve more serious attention than the daily attendance numbers of an essentially foreign-owned theme park?

You also gave extensive coverage to the English Schools Foundation teachers' pay dispute. What about the students?

Do you not think there should be greater awareness about the danger of underage binge drinking?

Greater pressure should be brought to bear on government authorities and the establishment to act responsibly, so our youngsters don't fall into the trap of alcohol abuse because they think it's perfectly acceptable.

You have an audience. That's a powerful tool. Please use it for those who need it.

Name and address supplied

In 2000, the government passed the Building Management (Amendment) Ordinance, which encouraged housing estates  to elect a  committee to manage the daily affairs of the estate, taking the job of  running the estate from the Housing Authority.

This has since created  many problems for flat owners in housing estates.

I live in a housing estate under the Home Ownership Scheme. According to the law, the Incorporated Owners of Sui Wo Court was established in 2000. The first four years were quite peaceful but  this year has been full of disputes.

During the election of the third management committee, the former chairman  claimed  she had been harassed by some owners and she could not continue.

After the election, some owners claimed  the poll was not fair as the management company had represented some owners in the election.

Afterwards, some owners questioned the financial status of the management committee. And only recently, some owners managed to call a special owners meeting to dissolve the management committee.

I'm sure that  this is   only the tip of the iceberg as more and more disputes between the management committee and the owners of the property will emerge.

I have read in the newspapers about similar cases, and I never thought that this would happen right on my doorstep.

For years, before our estate was incorporated, we never had such disputes.

That was when the estate was managed by the Housing Authority.

When the government encouraged citizens to manage their own affairs, a lot of estates  went corporate. People who didn't know how to manage a property were elected and joined the management committee, thus  the seeds for future disputes were sowed. This is obviously the handiwork of the now gone Tung administration.

These days all we receive in our postboxes are letters attacking the management committee or notices issued by the committee rebuffing the accusations.

This has caused much annoyance to us and has destroyed the harmony of the neighbourhood as people are taking sides. This is frustrating, as we cannot reverse the law. We as ordinary citizens can only sit back and watch our peaceful society disappear.

Henry Wong, Sha Tin



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