Death warrant unwarranted
I would like to draw your readers' attention to the improper actions of the Civil Engineering and Development Department in the peaceful village of Nam Wan, in Peng Chau. Last month, a private company hired by the department's Islands Development Office hung notices on three young banyan trees notifying us that they were to be chopped down because they would 'cause damage to the paving'.
Not only do the trees provide welcome shade in a parched open area, the brick paving surrounding them is not in the least damaged. Even if it were, it would be easy to replace - unlike the trees, which have taken years to grow.
Meanwhile, many sections of paving at a nearby seaside promenade are really damaged - not by trees, but by the sea. The promenade was built on reclaimed land, and the constant action of the waves eats away at the foundation, causing the paving to collapse and crumble. It has been like this for more than a year, but no attempt has been made at repairs. The damage is simply barricaded off, behind a notice saying: 'Under site observation'. Trees have been planted along other sections of the promenade, but they are spindly and leafless, and fail to provide shade.
I strongly urge the Islands Development Office to repair the damaged sections of the seaside promenade, and to work out why the trees planted there do not thrive. Is it because the contractor did a shoddy job? It is total misuse of taxpayers' money to ignore walkways badly in need of repair, pay a contractor to plant trees that do not grow - and then hire another company to chop down thriving banyans nearby.
TINA POY WING-LAM, Peng Chau
In fine Chinese tradition
In 'Cut the bonds of ignorance' (September 20), Frank Ching writes of the Chinese tradition of keeping people in the dark so that they are easier to govern. Pointing to the government's appointment of Xinhua to regulate news distributed by foreign agencies in China, he calls on Beijing to liberalise its press policy, allowing a freer flow of information to the people.