Q Do pedestrians need more protection from traffic? Hong Kong has a highway code and, supposedly, every driver in Hong Kong should know it. But in reality, the highway code is flagrantly disregarded. Of course, the code is not legally binding, but it is common sense and something that should be followed for the safety of all road users. Take, for example, the zebra crossings, which allow pedestrians a way of safely crossing the streets. I have personally found them more dangerous than crossing a normal road, where even if you have started walking on the zebra crossing, impolite and dangerous drivers continue to drive across. Some even speed up when they see you as though it were an arcade game. One driver eventually does stop and lets you cross, after about five other cars didn't. Then they mistakenly make the gesture for you to cross, even though it is not a decision for them to make as they can't control what other cars in the other lanes may do. But from my personal experience, the worst offenders are the taxi and van drivers, who nine out of 10 times speed up and try to head you off at the zebra crossings. The government should look at this problem and provide extra protection, since pedestrians in Hong Kong are putting their lives at risk every time they cross a road. Of course, legislators will probably not do this, as they aren't pedestrians anyway. They have chauffeur-driven limousines to take them back home. Kam-Wing Pang, Taikoo Shing Q Should schools provide lockers for children's heavy books? While our education minister is carrying a palm pilot to Legislative Council meetings to take notes and sometimes play games with, we are discussing this subject. Our children, too, must be provided with computers at school and should be carrying lightweight software to school. Their lunch box should be heavier than their school stuff. Nalini Daswani, Tsim Sha Tsui Q Will you use the Star Ferry when it moves? Relocating the Star Ferry pier to a position further from the Central business district is yet another dumb move invented by transport and highway planners who are inseparable from their private cars and never use their legs other than between a car park and their air-conditioned offices or homes. Old Hong Kong residents witnessed similar stupidity 30 years ago when ignorant transport planners got their way and forced the closure of the KCR terminus at Tsim Sha Tsui. Hunghom station was built in its place to create a new major transport interchange with a bus terminus and ferry pier close to the station. Within only a few years, however, greedy pro-reclamation land officials filled in this part of the harbour and then wondered why nobody was willing to walk more than half a mile to the new ferry pier. That killed off the Hunghom ferry link completely. As we have recently witnessed, Tsim Sha Tsui residents and businesses have been suffering and will continue to suffer years of traffic disruption caused by the reintroduction of KCR lines through Tsim Sha Tsui, tracks that should never have been removed. The relocation of the Hong Kong Island Star Ferry pier is an equally stupid mistake. When will these car-driving planners ever learn? P.A. Crush, Sha Tin I will still take the Star Ferry in the future, but the frequency will be significantly reduced. I would like to add that the ferry service provides a distinct and relaxing means of crossing the harbour. It provides one with time to unwind and forget - for about 15 minutes - that Hong Kong is actually a very busy place. In the heart of Central, such rides are convenient and worthwhile. I must admit that when the weather is cooler, I often walk from my office in Wan Chai after work on Saturday afternoons, view the scenery along the waterfront then cross the harbour on a ferry from Central to reach my home in Kowloon. This will change after the relocation. The new terminal is quite removed from the present location. Also, it will most likely lack the atmosphere of the present location - the feeling of being at a real working pier; a reflection of 'real' transport; and a place where you can get away from the every increasingly popular modernisation and artificial facade that Hong Kong and its developers love to decorate the city with. Is there anything we can do to stop the relocation and preserve the Star Ferry as part of Hong Kong's 'working' heritage? Hideo Nakamura Q What can be done to stop the sale of cigarettes to minors? Your reader Neil Keen (Talkback, Monday) didn't read my letter correctly. I wrote: 'In developed societies, many of those who heedlessly indulge in tobacco seem to be poor and uneducated' (my italics). I said this because it's known that tobacco companies have been concentrating their sales efforts (after seeing falling sales in the west) in poor countries, where people aren't always aware of the dangers. In my country, the Philippines, as in China, the levels of addiction are alarming, thanks to aggressive advertising by the tobacco companies. Of course, I know that many educated and well-off folks smoke. I know of Winston Churchill and also recall the late actor Yul Brynner who, when he was dying, appeared in a TV advert in the US advising people to shun tobacco. Sure, people from all walks of life will often need stimulants like drugs and alcohol (some call the addiction a crutch). But, as Mr Keen says: 'Society should do all it can to deter (smoking and drinking among young people) in a responsible and non-sensationalist manner.' Isabel Escoda, Lantau On other matters ... Could someone from the Department of Justice tell us how much taxpayers' money was spent prosecuting the 75-year-old female 'prostitute' Wu Wei-geen ('Court orders prostitute, 75, to behave', September 5)? Presumably, it was quite a bit more than the HK$20 she received and the punishment of being bound over for a year on a HK$1,000 bond. R.E.S. Charles, Parkview Last Saturday, the breakdown of the KCR and its poor emergency handling left passengers like me bewildered, confused and angry. At Kowloon Tong, the KCR central control room just announced a power line failure near the University station and that the train would be delayed, without any further details. Not knowing about the extent of the delay I chose to take a bus, but not being familiar with the locations of the bus stations and the routes, I spent nearly 15 minutes finding a bus. Then I was not able to get on the bus because of a long queue, had to wait 15 minutes, braving heavy rain, and arrived at my destination one hour late. The KCRC can do much better and offer more help to passengers. All the bus routes and locations of nearby bus stations should be shown at the station so passengers know where to take the bus. John Chan, Shekkipmei Activists recently protested outside a Causeway Bay branch of the fast-food chain KFC dressed as chickens. On August 26, KFC workers demanded better working conditions and a salary review. Now if KFC can't even provide their human workers with an adequate working environment, what chance do chickens have? As Birdland (Hong Kong) owns Kentucky Fried Chicken in the city, one is left to wonder! People should watch the video by animal rights group Peta, presented by Pamela Anderson, at www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com . She says: 'We have all heard about KFC's secret recipe, but you have no idea of what goes into making a bucket of Kentucky fried chicken.' She's right! From what I saw in this video, no wonder they keep it a secret. S. Wong
