How can the use of electric cars be promoted? I refer to the letter by Kelvin Yin (Talkback, April 16). He thinks electric cars are clean and quiet. It is necessary to rectify this alleged term 'clean transport'. With electric cars, the pollution is transferred to the air via a different course, namely shifting from conventional cars' tailpipes to the smoke stacks of power plants, and this also makes a major contribution to air pollution and climate change. The use of electric private cars might create another environmental problem, as it will spur demand for another finite raw material to make batteries. Also, private cars can never be as efficient as public transport. Our government should promote much cleaner public transport for this crowded city. I agree with Chris Stubbs (Talkback, April 15): 'Why not work at getting the polluting buses replaced by electrically powered ones?' Why are we still wasting time on trials merely for private cars in Hong Kong, when there are certain good examples of local public transport already? A 16-passenger Mitsubishi Rosa electric shuttle bus has been running at the airport since 2000. And Park Island Transport has been using a hybrid electric bus from DesignLine since 2003. This diesel-electric drive system has already been used on more than 1,500 buses in places like New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and Ottawa. London has had hybrid-electric double-decker red buses on its roads since 2007. These buses use a small diesel engine with electric storage through a lithium ion battery pack. The diesel engine is less than one-third the size of the typical seven-litre bus engine. Based on a London test cycle, a reduction in CO{-2} emissions of 31 per cent and fuel savings in the range of 40 per cent have been demonstrated, compared with a modern Euro IV-compliant bus. A diesel-electric bus has also got a clever system to cut the diesel engine while stopping at a bus terminus so as to reduce the pollution that affects passengers waiting in the queue and other pedestrians. The mainland has already begun to replace the nation's public buses, taxis and postal vehicles with a hybrid version. So when will the Hong Kong government follow and eventually catch up with these other cities? Edwin Lau Che-feng, director, Friends of the Earth (HK) How can the King of Kowloon's calligraphy be saved? A Home Affairs Bureau spokesman has declined to comment on the artistic value of 'King of Kowloon' Tsang Tsou-choi's street calligraphy, even though his work was exhibited at the Venice Biennale and adopted by designers as an iconic image of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government has no vision and no ability to recognise talent or acknowledge what Hong Kong people value and respect as creative expression. They are willing to spend millions on an art complex and contract out art education to schools with credentials that have been questioned. There really is no hope for art in Hong Kong. William Proudfit, Discovery Bay What do you think of supermarket discounts? I refer to the report ('Chain store 'bargains' in fact dearer', April 16). During the weekends, you see a lot of adverts from Wellcome and ParknShop announcing bargains. People are tempted by these adverts so they go shopping at these two dominant supermarket chains. However, sometimes on closer examination, what appears to be a discount is not and you end up paying more for products. According to a survey by the Consumer Council, 79 goods tagged with promotion labels were sold at higher prices during the bargain period. Shoppers have been under the impression that they were getting a discount, but this is not always the case. This must make consumers feel cheated. I wanted to get some skimmed milk last month. I found two cartons of skimmed milk at ParknShop were for sale at HK$10.50. However, I was able to get two for HK$9 from a small store. The price at a Circle K convenience store was the same as at the supermarket. Prices are generally higher at convenience stores, but this was not the case with this item. I do not think this is acceptable if a supermarket is claiming that it is offering a discount. The government should enact legislation that makes it essential for shops, when they claim they are offering a bargain, to ensure it is actually cheaper. Consumers must be smart. After seeing adverts for bargains, they should check these bargains out to ensure prices have actually been reduced. If consumers form the opinion that the so-called discounts are not actually cheaper, they will decide they no longer want to shop there. My father told me that he must pay HK$40.50 for a box of washing powder if he buys it at Wellcome, but it costs HK$37 at a pharmacy. The discounts at pharmacies are genuine. We need to be savvy shoppers. Ultimately it is our money and we can decide where we wish to spend it. We must shop in a discerning way. Vikki Lee Pui-ying, North Point What do you think of services for minorities? Tsao Po-yee's complaint about the lack of foreign languages on signs and menus is unreasonable (Talkback, April 16). Private business owners make decisions based on the needs of their business. A run-of-the-mill cha chaan teng should not be forced or even asked to create a menu in any particular language. If the owners want to restrict themselves to serving only those customers who read Chinese, that is their choice. They will lose any potential business from non-readers of Chinese and other businesses will be created to make up for the gap in the market. This situation does not require the intervention of the government; the market can take care of itself. Ideally, all people who live in Hong Kong should acquire a basic level of reading in Chinese and speaking in Cantonese, because English only works on Hong Kong Island, major shopping centres, tourist destinations and government offices. To that end, the government should arrange subsidised Chinese lessons for all non-permanent residents so they can better integrate into society much as it has already done for English in the Workplace English campaign. William Yip, Sham Shui Po On other matters... I was at a library recently and saw something to really warm the heart. Two young girls - maybe nine or 10 years old - were sitting on the floor animatedly discussing the pictures in the book they were sharing. Nearby sat a woman, I assume their mother, watching them with a smile on her face. As a parent and an educator, I was really happy to watch them bring to life the animals in the picture book, letting their imaginations run wild. Such scenes are possible because of the wonderful public library system we have. Whether it's the small facility at Wah Fu or the Central Library in Causeway Bay, each one has a fair selection of materials for us to enjoy. Nor are we just talking about books.There are CDs that can be borrowed, computers for anyone to use and study rooms for our hard-working students. Borrowing a book has been made easier thanks to technological upgrades. With a library card or your Smart ID card, you can now use one of the automated checkout machines instead of having to line up at the counter. And if you don't finish it before having to return it, just go to the website and renew the item for another two weeks. When you're finally done with the book, you can return it to any library in Hong Kong, which makes life so much more convenient. I often complain about the government but our public library system is something officials can be proud of, so a word of thanks to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Rennie Marques, Yuen Long
