Do you think fake products are a big problem in Hong Kong? While some tourists might actually enjoy buying fake watches and handbags, fake and imitation medicine poses a health hazard. Look at pollution - it was not perceived as a major issue for the city 20 years ago. The government was not proactive in fighting pollution then. Now air pollution is a major issue. International companies are reluctant to send employees (and their families) here. Connie Lau of the Consumer Council is taking the same attitude as government officials on pollution 20 years ago - no increase in registered complaints! The slow pace of the government is also disappointing. How could it take more than four years to register legitimate Chinese medicines? I believe the council and the government need a dramatic change in attitude. If we destroy the reputation of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong it would be irreversible, like pollution. Reliable and safe medicine is part of the fabric of a modern civilised society. It is like food, water, air, travel, education and police. You want all these to be safe so you can feel safe. It is not just a tourism issue any more. It is time for quick action, no more bureaucracy and denial. Take action now. David Cheung Should there be more controls on health-check packages? A close relative who is a broker for a high-profile medical laboratory offered me a comprehensive health check and claimed to have competitive prices and offers over other private hospitals. I surrendered after her continual telephone bombardment. The result was ready almost as soon as I finished dressing after the examination. The in-house doctor concluded from the results that I had an iron deficiency and advised me to take a supplement. Other health indicators were normal. I showed the report to a doctor when I had the flu. He pointed out an iron deficiency should be reflected in a lower haemoglobin (hb) reading but my reading in the report was normal. I told this to the broker and she never replied. I am sceptical about the entire process and report readings. The laboratory company must have technical flaws or it is a business scam. I am just sad that the doctor and nurse became tools for the company rather than serving their patients. I still remember the broker talked a lot about the assumption that people who live up to a certain age must have some hidden deadly diseases. Apparently, she is taking advantage of some people who think they can buy faster and better services by paying more. I have heard the same kind of complaints from my friends as well. I agree the government should introduce licensing to differentiate the bad from the good. Pang Chi-ming, Sheung Shui On other matters ... I refer to your Take Action column on April 16. On reading this article the reader is left with the impression that Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) experts support the Highways Department's placement of a large number of street lights in the Sai Kung Country Park. In fact, we are not involved in the argument of whether the lighting is needed on the road near Pak Tam Chung. We have not been asked to survey and report on this location and we have made this point clear to the department. We have suggested that it carry out its own studies on the effects of light pollution on a variety of environmental factors, since for some fauna groups it is not clear how lighting an area of wilderness will affect their natural behaviour. We have provided the department with some scientific references on the effects of street lighting on insects, as significant work has been carried out on this group of animals. These studies show street lights have been found to have a significant negative impact on some species. We have indicated to the department that some groups of animals are significantly affected by environmental light 'pollution' and others to a lesser degree. This is not what comes across in your article, which in its written context, suggests support for the government's plans to light our wilderness areas. From a purely sustainable living perspective, it is better for the department to resist the temptation to add more and more lights to our city. It is best to do nothing and save the money, electricity and effort and leave the rest of nature to carry on without further human disturbance. We would like to see the Highways Department developing a grand plan to remove lighting, rather than add lighting, so that less climate-changing fossil fuels are burnt in keeping them lit. Since this subject is obviously topical, and to re-establish our actual organisational slant on this subject, could I suggest that one of your reporters carries out an interview with one of our experts about the effects that light pollution may have on animals. Based on overseas studies and examples we have come across locally, some further 'light' can be shed on this issue, which may help to balance decisions that the government may be pondering, related to light needs in country parks. Andy Brown, executive director, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden For the past year or so the traffic situation at the Pok Oi roundabout in Yuen Long, during the evening rush hour, has got worse. Every day we get tailbacks to the Yuen Long and Tsing Long highways. This will be made worse when the new Western Corridor opens in July. Pok Oi roundabout is the main junction for all vehicles travelling on the Tsing Long and Yuen Long highways to access Yuen Long town. There is another roundabout at Shap Pat Heung on the Yuen Long highway but access to this is via the Pok Oi roundabout. Can the authorities reopen the slip roads of this roundabout to and from Yuen Long highway, which would relieve quite a bit of pressure from the Pok Oi roundabout. Why did the authorities close the slip roads in the first place? Terry Greene, Yuen Long
