What do you think of the height restrictions in Tsim Sha Tsui? Tsim Sha Tsui is already a crowded place packed with cars and people. The streets and alleys are small, narrow and filthy. This kind of environment is uncomfortable and it puts people under pressure. The more skyscrapers are built there, the more cramped and polluted a place it will become. The imposition of the height restrictions provides people with more space. On both sides of the harbour, views of Hong Kong's hills are often obscured by high-rise buildings. It is only when I get up to The Peak, that I can get a clear view of the landscape, and, in particular, the hills of the Kowloon peninsula. The height restriction will protect the view of these hills. Michael Leung Chung-hong, Sham Shui Po How can the harbour be made more accessible? Sara Lui is absolutely correct (Talkback, May 28) when she says that what we Hongkongers need is more green and open space, as most of us live a hyper-stressed lifestyle in urban areas. Therefore, having a large oasis of greenery, as is the case in other cities around the world, would enhance Hong Kong's status as a good city to live in. It would make Hongkongers proud to call the city their home, which is not the case at present. Whenever I visit many European and Asian cities I feel people there are more calm and happy because of the presence of open spaces and green parks in the centre of their cities. Residents come into contact with these areas of greenery on their way to work and when they are going home. I think Hong Kong's leaders think too much about dollars and cents, and pouring more concrete into the city. G. Michael, Tsim Sha Tsui What can be done to care better for the elderly? People often do not spend enough time with elderly relatives. Often they are put in retirement homes and it is left to voluntary groups and others to arrange their activities. They could go on outings which help them to widen their horizons. While they can be well looked after in these homes, what the elderly really want is their children's love. They want to be cared for by family no matter how kind and caring the homes' staff might be. I think it would be a good idea for school students to spend time with pensioners and chat with them. No matter how busy people are, they should find time to talk regularly with old folk. Fian Lee Lai-sze, Tsuen Wan Do the laws covering dumping need revision? I think the laws regarding dumping have to be changed. Calls for revision of the laws have been made following an incident at a village in the New Territories - Ting Kok Tsuen - where truckloads of rubble were dumped last month. Officials posted a notice forbidding further unauthorised dumping on this land but, by then, the damage had been done. Reading about this made me feel very angry. Why does the government tolerate any illegal dumping? When a complaint is made, officials are not dealing with it promptly ('Dumping complaints in vain', May 14). There should be an urgent revision of the law. Kaos Lam Ka-kit, West Point On other matters ... Having seen Hong Kong go through its financial ups and downs, I find it disturbing to see so much anti-business acrimony hurled at Times Square, a pillar of our consumer economy. Surely the people and government have something better to do than just complain about whether a commercial establishment in a commercial neighbourhood decides so shockingly to engage in commerce? What happened to the free market? This whole Times Square argument is ridiculous. If anyone told New Yorkers that they could not hold or do business in (the original) Times Square because it was 'public space', they would be laughed into the Hudson River. Pauline Pun, Mid-Levels I wonder if the MTR Corporation could reply, through these pages, to a question I have concerning the Light Rail Transit fare structure. In short, my Octopus card gets deducted twice for an LRT ride. I tap my card on the entry card reader at the Tai Hing North LRT stop and ride to either Tuen Mun on the 507 or Siu Hong on the 610. I exit and tap my card on the exit card reader which shows a deduction of HK$3.80. I then proceed to the West Rail line and take the train to either Mei Foo or Nam Cheong. When I exit the West Rail line, the card reader shows a deduction of HK$8.30 or HK$9.10, depending on where I boarded and exited. However, when I tap the card against the card balance reader, it shows that an additional HK$5.80 has been deducted for the LRT trip, that is, it shows a deduction of LRT HK$3.80 and LRT HK$5.80, the two readings being a few minutes apart. I hope the MTR Corp can explain this to me. Rennie Marques, Lai Chi Kok Every day, when I go through Mei Foo MTR station on the way to school, I see a lot of adverts for beauty products. The message I get from all these adverts is the same - that to be beautiful, you have to be slim. On some it is claimed that you can be glamorous and get a slim figure rapidly and easily. I can't help thinking that many people who see such adverts, especially women, are persuaded to believe that they cannot be beautiful unless they are slim. They feel they must take slimming pills and other similar products instead of going for the healthy option, which is to exercise and maintain a balanced diet. I think we will see more of these kinds of adverts and I would like to see tighter government controls, such as limiting their number in public areas. Jason Chu Hung-chin, Lai Chi Kok
