I have heard much talk lately from Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and the Environmental Protection Department about the need to address the horrific pollution problem in Hong Kong, but the talk does not seem to be matched by action.
If Clear the Air chairwoman Annelise Connell is correct, Citybus was given a new 10-year contract, although only 10 of their buses out of 750 meet clean Euro III standards, and KMB also extended its contract for 10 years with no requirement for pollution reduction. Can the relevant authority explain this? Mr Tsang also said the EPD was looking at ways to deal with idling lorries and other vehicles that contribute to our pollution. Is it such a difficult problem? Simply turn off the engines.
Finally, do we really need an 18-month consultation period to discuss our pollution problem? And why do we need a public consultation? To see how much pollution the public wants? This is laughable. We want clean air. So, can the government tell us what it is actually doing? Not planning or hoping to accomplish, but what it is really doing to address the problem?
TERRY SCOTT, Sha Tin
The call for people to protect the environment seems to have fallen on deaf ears in Hong Kong so far. Numerous newspaper articles, television advertisements, and appeals by green groups and government officials have done little to improve the air, water and waste pollution. This makes one wonder how effective is our public education on environmental protection. Unattractive government broadcasts on television, featuring drowning people struggling in loads of rubbish, leave much to be desired.
An internet message, originating in Spain, offers a refreshing contrast. Entitled 'A Letter from 2070', the slides show a frail, elderly man delivering a monologue.
