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SCMP Reporter

In his letter 'Ins and outs of the law', (June 30), Paul Harris asks the commissioner of police to clarify the legal power under which officers required 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok-hung to turn his T-shirt inside out before entering a reception for state leader Jia Qinglin .

Hong Kong is a civilised, tolerant place, with sufficient ways for people to express their ideas openly and publicly.

Whatever Mr Leung's motives and the legal powers of the police, what we have here is a matter of courtesy. Mr Leung was attending a reception, as a legislator, in honour of the state leader.

TAM CHUN-TAT, Ma Wan

T-shirt tactics

Paul Harris asks the commissioner of police to clarify the legal power under which his officers required 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok-hung to turn his

T-shirt inside out ('Ins and outs of the law, June 30).

Mr Harris, I presume, must be a barrister, as he has SC after his name.

If the police had not asked Mr Leung to turn his T-shirt inside out, the hotel or reception's security personnel would probably have refused him entry. You do not have to be a barrister to know that.

We have witnessed far too many incidents in which the legislator has used his status as a veil to conduct a protest.

If Mr Leung went to the reception at the Island Shangri-La hotel with the intention of protesting, then he should have been treated as a protester - nothing more, nothing less.

It is no different from a police officer going into a store with the intention to steal. On such an occasion, the officer should be treated as a possible thief, not a policeman.

SAMSON CHANG, Admiralty

Religious representations

The graphic used to illustrate the article 'Mittal Steel wins battle for Arcelor' (June 27) is rather questionable. It shows the face of Lakshmi Mittal imposed on the body of the Hindu goddess of wealth, after whom the steel tycoon is named.

It was not so long ago that the Muslim community was offended by the way an icon of their faith was represented in the western media.

Freedom of expression may  allow communities around the world to make fun of the faiths of others, but this illustration is, in short, immature journalism.

PREM WADHWANI, Kowloon Bay

Rainy day explanations

I refer to A.K. Ho's queries about rainstorm warnings in his letter 'Rainy day warnings' (June 19).  While the Hong Kong Observatory endeavours to issue warnings before rainfall levels reach prescribed criteria, rainstorms can develop rapidly, and it is extremely difficult to forecast them with a long lead time.

Furthermore, the rainfall tends to be very uneven, and certain places in Hong Kong may experience heavy downpours while others receive little rain. If the heavy rain is localised, no warning will be issued.

Also, contrary to Mr Ho's perceptions,  rainstorm warnings have been issued on Sundays and public holidays on a number of occasions in past years.

W.H. LEUNG, for director of the Hong Kong Observatory

Don't blame civil service

The letter 'Civil service self-serving' (June 29) is misleading.

Contrary to its argument, the legislators seeking a 70 per cent pay rise are not civil servants. Likewise, the new government complex at Tamar was championed by the chief executive and approved by the Legislative Council, not civil servants.

The five-day working week was fast-tracked by Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, without consultation with the civil service.

If Mr Tsang had consulted police officers, he may have discovered that many constables - who already spend almost nine hours a day carrying 11kg of equipment around on their utility belts in temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius - are not that keen on doing so for an extra hour each day so that they can have half a day off.

It is high time the media started to help the public differentiate between the people who are trying to keep Hong Kong running smoothly (police and civil servants) and those who are trying to do the opposite by cutting pay and conditions of service (the chief executive, the Executive Council and Legco).

DAVID WILLIAMS, chairman, Overseas Inspectors Association, Hong Kong Police



Long Hair's dressing-down