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SCMP Reporter

Q Should all corporal punishment of children be banned?

I think banning corporal punishment is a bad idea. There is an old adage that goes 'spare the rod and spoil the child'. This could not be truer. There is the danger that the liberty to raise one's hand on a child may result in abuse, but the converse is also true.

Children are more than ever aware of their rights and I fear a move to ban corporal punishment at home may result in children becoming perverse and challenging authority just for the sake of it.

It would be far better if laws were instituted to take immediate and severe action against parents who are guilty of child abuse rather than to limit a parent's right to use corporal punishment to discipline children. In my view the increasing lack of discipline in the world today is because of this general move towards leniency.

Erle Pereira, Happy Valley

Q Is the government failing to act against illegal taxis?

At Hong Kong airport they are definitely failing to act against illegal taxi touts. There is an airport bylaw against touting by non-franchised taxi operators. However, there is no enforcement whatsoever.

On every occasion (and there have been many) that I have been in the arrivals hall in the past two years I have been asked at least twice if I needed a taxi or limo. It is easy to see how many touts are operating in the arrivals hall, yet the Airport Authority and/or the police do nothing about it.

John Findlay, Tsim Sha Tsui

Q Should the Wan Chai street market be saved?

Hong Kong has already destroyed so many old traditional places that  it more or less already has become a modern city without  a face  or atmosphere. If Hong Kong is continuing this development path, it  deserves only faceless, dull tourists.

With  a few more Delifrances, Starbucks and McDonald's, Hong Kong  can be transferred to Europe or South America - a Chinese Disneyland.

Of course the outdoor Wan Chai market should not be removed.

Jorg Becker, Kowloon Tong

Anyone who has walked  through Wan Chai's market area cannot fail to be captivated by the atmosphere of the lanes, and to be taken with the 1930s era fish/meat market building. It is wonderful and in its own small way defines the city in which we live.

It is difficult to believe that the planned wholesale renovation of this small patch of ground really would be progress. I urge the relevant authorities to think again, and consider a scheme which gives priority to heritage preservation over money-making in the form of another swanky commercial/residential development.

Jason R. Ali, Sheung Wan

On other matters ...

I also  saw Oasis on Saturday evening although I  came away with somewhat different feelings about it than Christian Moore (Talkback, Wednesday). Mr Moore complains about the fact that people moved from the 'cheap' seats at the back five minutes before the performance started. That is true and it is a shame that this spoilt his enjoyment of what was an excellent concert.

However, could he not have stood also if his view was being obscured? After all, this was rock 'n' roll, not a piano recital.  Perhaps a Kylie Minogue concert would be more his cup of tea.

Also, Mr Moore would have been able to spare us his righteous indignation if the event had been publicised properly and the 'more expensive' seats had been filled. I  don't resent the good fortune of  people who were able to take advantage of the half-filled arena. Indeed, I would have done the same.

Mr Moore continues with his comments about smoking.  I didn't smoke inside the concert area, although certainly some people did. This, for me at least, was a bit of good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll rebellion, which is part of what Oasis are all about. What did he really expect the stewards to do, dive into the middle of the crowd with torches to weed out these hardened criminals?

This was clearly an event that would be better off without Mr Moore and his ilk and, if Oasis return, I would like to think somebody with a bit more of an artistic spirit than Mr Moore will fill his seat - or stand, sing and enjoy themselves!

Joe Wariner, Tin Shui Wai

Hong Kong people take pride that the territory respects the rule of law. Unfortunately, the way the taxi protest was conducted and the way the police responded no doubt has affected the reputation of the territory in the eyes of residents and people overseas.

The taxi protest's 'disruption rating' is no doubt high; so is the police's 'tolerance rating', probably because the latter were afraid of being criticised.

However, has the incident given Hong Kong a good image? We should bear in mind Hong Kong's slipping competitiveness relative to other countries as rated by international agencies. It has slipped for a reason. The fact that a foreign visitor, who supposedly is used to public demonstrations in his home country, asked the police to 'arrest this man' probably means that the protester had crossed the line.

For the benefit of Hong Kong, the government and the politicians should consider spelling out laws concerning how street protests should be conducted and how the laws should be enforced.

Andrew Woo, Singapore



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