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SCMP Reporter

Q Should the Wan Chai street market be retained?

I think the government should retain the market. It is a heritage that marks the uniqueness of the Wan Chai district. The market is imprinted with all the bitter-sweet reminiscences of the stallholders as well as the residents. The new market can never replace these.

I have  lived in Wan Chai.  What I liked there most was the vibrant atmosphere and  preservation of historical features.

In fact, I strongly felt disappointed and distressed at the demolition of Lee Tung Street. The government should not destroy it. If it insists on doing so, Wan Chai will no longer be a shopping spot.

Hilary Wong, Shau Kei Wan

Replacing the Wan Chai market is a mistake. First of all, if the goal is to create better hygienic conditions, there are other, more cost-efficient ways to do that.

Alternatives could be installing hand-sanitising dispensers throughout the market or creating stiff fines for food vendors who violate health codes.

Creating an entire new market  seems very excessive, especially when there are simple and cheap solutions.

The second problem is that Hong Kong will lose one of its cultural icons. One of my fondest memories of Hong Kong is spotting the market from the tram.  I was so interested I hopped off not knowing where I was, just to explore all the interesting sights and sounds of the market.

From an American's point of view, it is venues like the Wan Chai market that give Hong Kong its lustre and entice foreigners to come and experience its beauties.

Chris Musni, San Francisco, USA

Has the government started to come to its senses? It has evidently agreed to allow the Wan Chai street market to continue operating, although in a reduced form, and to pay compensation to those stallholders who do not choose to move to the new cement palace being built to house the Wan Chai wet market and shops. This is after first announcing that it was going to force all stallholders to move into the cement palace. Perhaps the fast and furious protests had a positive effect.

As in the dai pai dong controversy, the government does not seem to realise that many tourists come here to see a piece of China and to experience things they can't experience at home and not just to shop in air-conditioned malls. Maybe the bureaucrats and developers are finally getting the message.

Ed Hahn, Central

Q How should the government handle the issue of music in parks?

I live in Tuen Mun and I go to the park frequently. I think it's OK for people to sing in the park, so long as they don't use amplifiers.

Hong Kong is a small place. While it is a good thing to allow people to freely express themselves, it is very disturbing to hear other people singing  when you don't feel like it.  I don't think you need to use amplifiers to express your creativity and singing. After all, if your voice is perfect, people enjoy hearing it and they will keep themselves silent.

Dennis Tang, Tuen Mun

On other matters...

Tony Cook's letter (Talkback, February 25) referring to the apparent blindness of the police to blatant breaches of the law raises an important question.

Why is it that the police appear to ignore offences such as using a phone while driving, driving without lights after dark, driving across double white lines, jaywalking, etc, except when they have been told to specifically enforce these offences?

Hence, from time to time we see speed traps or jaywalking-enforcement teams in the usual places catching unwary offenders, but the rest of the time it's a free-for-all.

Unfortunately, some police officers also set a bad example. In addition to the examples quoted by Mr Cook, I have seen police motorcycles, which are required by law to show driving lights at all times, racing around in the darkness without any lights at all. It's no surprise that other road-users have such bad habits when some police officers show such flagrant disregard for the traffic rules.

Name and address supplied

The Hong Kong Arts Festival has lined up some great acts this year, but unfortunately the venues have been wrongly chosen in some cases.

For The History Boys, if you were seated on the upper level of the Lyric Theatre at the Academy for Performing Arts, where it was staged, you could only see half of the big screen at the back of the set and during those video intervals you had to  rely on the two pathetically small television monitors on the sides. Even if you squinted you could only see the clips faintly.

The Chinese sub-titling, which was definitely needed given the regional accents in the dialogue that even many native English-speakers reportedly had a hard time understanding, were also tough to read. If you were on the ground level, your neck would hurt from turning your head up and sideways to read them.

Salif Keita played at the City Hall's Concert Hall. Those who spent $400 for front-row seats looked unimpressed when Keita invited everyone, including the $300 ticket-holders, to congregate in front of the stage to dance to his music. Had the organisers given thought to the musician's style, they would probably have chosen a free-standing venue.

Having said that, this city desperately lacks world-class venues for performing arts and the organisers must have been fighting an uphill battle.

Name and address supplied



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