Should the drug rehab school get the Mui Wo premises? I find it commendable that Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen has spoken out about the use of the former Mui Wo school for the Christian Zheng Sheng College students. However, with all the problems currently facing residents in South Lantau it is a pity that this is the first time he has shown any interest in what goes on in this part of Hong Kong. Basically, he wants these children accommodated out of the way. I doubt if he actually knows where the school is located. Hundreds of children from South Lantau have to commute to Hong Kong to go to school every day and I cannot see why, when all Hong Kong Island schools are so full, there is no suitable school for them. There is a small international school with a long waiting list that could be expanded. Mui Wo is a complete mess apart from the roundabout with its plants which are maintained by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The ferry pier needs a great deal of attention, there are abandoned bicycles everywhere and most of the buildings could do with some sprucing up. What should be a stunning waterfront recreational area is a park for trucks and next to that are the cement works. Pui O is just one large rubbish heap with piles of old cars, refrigerators, mattresses, cookers and anything else that can be thrown away. Fly-tipping is carried out daily on supposedly private land and in coastal areas. Add to this a mosquito problem that has to be the worst in Hong Kong and the illegal felling of trees and you can understand why many residents are unwilling to support a plan that could bring more problems. Lantau is made up of indigenous and non-indigenous residents, many of whom are expatriates and of course each group has different views of how they see the island developing. Some of the most beautiful parts of Hong Kong are on Lantau and they are being eroded by selfish people and a lack of government control. Judith Carline, Lantau I agree partially with comments made regarding the need of Mui Wo residents for a school. I would like to point out that the whole confusion and resulting ill-feeling was due to incompetence on the part of the Education Bureau, and the fact that with their comments, some Mui Wo residents were contradicting themselves. The vacated school in Mui Wo was a new school, but unfortunately it was a middle school using Chinese as the medium of instruction. It was a product of the bureau's controversial mother-tongue education policy. It seemed inevitable that the school would close. As a Chinese middle school it could not compete with other established schools outside Mui Wo. It was seen as a much less attractive option. The bureau was slow to take any follow-up action and ignored the needs of residents. When the problem of drug abuse among young people hit the headlines, the Hong Kong government backed the Christian Zheng Sheng College using the premises, in order to boost its sagging approval ratings. I believe not all Mui Wo residents are opposed to this plan and the community will eventually support it. However, in this whole saga, Mui Wo residents have been treated unfairly by the administration. Virginia Yue, Tsuen Wan Unfortunately, Hui Man-zi (Talkback, June 24) seems to be unable to differentiate between the two issues at hand: a school being closed due to a dwindling attendance and an empty government-owned premises being converted into a drug rehabilitation centre for young people. Does your correspondent know that the band five school that had previously occupied the building was rejected by its community, as could be deduced through the lack of enrolment? It consequently had been on the chopping block for several years before the drug rehabilitation centre idea was even conceived. Hence, the association between the previous school's closure, the community's right to access to education and the conversion of a building into a drug rehabilitation centre should be kept apart. The question that must be asked is why is it only now that we hear the cries of Mui Wo residents about their children having to commute for secondary school education. Jeff Bell, Discovery Bay On other matters... I am a member of The Fringe Club and have organised both literary and musical events there. The Fringe is a private not-for-profit organisation that seeks to promote the arts. The food and beverage element of the club is, I feel, an enhancement to the multi-use format of the diverse spaces within. It also generates income, without which it would be obliged to charge commercial rates for venue hire, or operate a stringent selection policy to ensure the financial viability of participating artists. It is to the Fringe's credit that it does neither and has thus been a vital resource for emerging talent that might struggle to get an airing elsewhere. The intimate studios are an ideal size for experimental theatre, poetry readings and traditional arts activities and are well used by the entire artistic community. I believe that the renovations (notification was given many months ago to all concerned) are required under fire-safety regulations. The club will have to close for some considerable time and will suffer the loss of a non-trivial amount of space. I agree that the government should nurture pottery and all other art-forms. I hope that the new cultural hub will incorporate facilities that are accessible by fringe and mainstream groups alike. The Fringe should be commended for providing a home for the Pottery Workshop for so many years, however through no fault of its own, circumstances have changed and it requires the space for the benefit of the whole artistic community. David McKirdy, Sai Kung What a sad day it will be when the Pottery Workshop is removed from the Fringe Club. This is the type of organisation the Fringe was established to encourage. Cutting off one of its roots will be detrimental to the club. Renovation may be necessary but to use it as an excuse to exclude an organisation that adds to cultural development and is self-sustaining reflects very badly on the Fringe Club's attitude to something it should be seeking to protect. Norman de Brackinghe, Pok Fu Lam
