Your graphic photograph on Saturday of a dog being captured in Beijing's dog-culling campaign brings home the abhorrent, heart-rending reality of the preparations under way for the 2008 Olympics. The accompanying report's description of Wei Zhihong smuggling her beloved labrador from one hiding place to another is indescribably sad ('Muzzles offered to ease cull', November 25). Yet this is the city that will be at the centre of the world stage from now until the Olympics are over. It's time the Chinese government took note of the opinions of the international community and changed its ways. We're told this is all about a rabies scare, and there is no doubt that rabies is to be feared. But there are other ways to handle an outbreak (if it really exists), including education and vaccination programmes. In the meantime, full marks to Animals Asia Foundation for offering to supply 50,000 muzzles to be distributed to dog owners until another solution is found. Let's hope Beijing seizes the day. HELEN M. BARKER, Tung Chung Animal love How delightfully refreshing to read about broadcaster Bernard Lo's love of nature and animals in 'Look into the eyes of an animal' (November 27). It made me feel terribly sorry for Hong Kong children, most of whom grow up in concrete surroundings, with pets they treat like disposable toys. I was saddened recently to be told by a teenage student that she hated all animals, as did her parents. It makes me wish Lo could take them to Oregon some day. BEATRIZ TAYLOR, Cheung Chau Science will not save us In his letter 'Joy to the world', (November 25), J. Charleston expresses his elation at news that seven nations are to invest the equivalent of HK$99 billion to build a fusion reactor that might provide 'as much energy from a litre of seawater as from a litre of petrol or a kilo of coal'. This remote possibility will give him 'free rein to buy gas-guzzling 44s without guilt' - and not a word about conservation or our children's future. He seems to view poisoning the planet as a personal freedom, an earned and inalienable right. The same self-absorbed philosophy has seen US consumption of the Earth's resources hit a staggering 25 per cent. If seawater fusion does work (results are 30 years away) most countries won't be able to afford it. We can't run billions of vehicles and aircraft on electricity - from any source. Mr Charleston thinks science will save us, yet apparently dismisses the work of 99.99 per cent of the world's climate scientists, who warn that global warming is the biggest threat mankind has faced. And it is science and technology that have produced a hi-tech toxic nightmare, hellish environmental disasters and an unsustainable future. Our dependence on oil and its myriad byproducts is at the heart of global warming and pollution problems. I picture your correspondent driving his gas-guzzler into a toxic cloud singing Joy to The World, oblivious to the devastation around him. What about conservation? As Mark Twain famously said: 'Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.' PETER SHERWOOD, Discovery Bay Defined by culture Vivian Huang's letter 'We are one people' (November 22) expressed her confusion that local people might exclude residents from the mainland in their definition of a true Hongkonger. She is also confused that letter writer Ma Nga-lei should describe mainlanders born after the 'liberation' as 'victims of incessant indoctrination' ('Identity issues', November 17). I am not sure if all mainlanders are indoctrinated, but I believe Ms Huang does not quite understand Hong Kong, even though she has studied here for more than two years. To clarify, Hong Kong was a city of migrants. The proportion of population born in Hong Kong rose to 59.7 per cent in 2001 from 47.7 per cent in 1961, meaning that most people nowadays are not migrants. Hong Kong is also a place to settle rather than a place of transit, as the rise in owner-occupier households to 65.9 per cent in 2001 from 54.5 per cent in 1961 shows. Second, sharing 'the same blood' does not make all Chinese the same people. Mainlanders, Taiwanese, Singaporeans, Hongkongers and American-born Chinese all have different values, cultures and languages. To categorise people according to race rather than culture is meaningless. I regard my boss, who was born in Britain but has worked in this city for 30 years, to be a Hongkonger; Ms Huang, who has spent only two years in Hong Kong, is not. You simply cannot acquire a culture instantly. Hong Kong's national identity is distinguishable. Hongkongers are industrious, quick-witted, lawful and rational. While mainlanders have a strong sense of national identity, Hongkongers do not. The 'same blood, same people' perception is a misunderstanding. And what is wonderful about Hong Kong is that no one is manipulated into what we think he or she ought to be. We accept that we are different people. ANDREW TAY, Causeway Bay
