What do you think of the drug-testing system? I think students will benefit from the drug-testing system. It will enable schools and social workers to identify those pupils who are taking drugs, hopefully at an early stage. The social workers can provide counselling straight away. The system can also act as a deterrent, because students will know that any one of them could be chosen as it will be a random selection. However, the system will not succeed unless it has the support of all parties, that is, the schools, parents, social workers, the government and the students themselves. Law Cheung-sing, Kwun Tong Drug abuse among students has become quite common in Hong Kong, the influence of a decadent, western materialistic world. This is most unfortunate in a Chinese society mostly imbued with Confucian doctrine. The prompt action being taken by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen to curb this trend by means of tests for drugs, to be carried out by schools, may theoretically be considered an initial step in the right direction. Nevertheless, to ensure success, there must be co-ordination by all parties concerned plus police efforts to stop the flow of drugs into Hong Kong. The work of drug rehabilitation centres is also important. We have to recognise what causes drug addiction. Young people who start to take drugs often lack self confidence. Also the rich-poor gap can be an important factor as is the lack of fairness in our society. Peter Wei, Kwun Tong It is so obvious that our society has to do something about drug abuse among teenagers. I think that testing for drugs in schools is a very good idea in principle. However, doubts have been raised about the effectiveness of the tests. First, they will not be compulsory. Consent must be sought from the parents and the students. Also, if students test positive, the case will only be treated inside the school. I think the government should come up with a more comprehensive proposal. Drug abuse starts with the people who sell drugs. The administration has to increase the penalties for individuals who are found guilty of selling drugs. R. Hau, Kowloon Bay What do you think of the speed-limiter plan for minibuses? Speed limiters are the way to go. Drivers and owners of public minibuses are complaining that they will not be able to accelerate out of trouble? The simple solution is to restrict all of these buses to a maximum speed limit of 70km/h on all roads and, just like other franchised buses on the highways, they should not to allowed to use the outer lane if there are more than two lanes. KMB has limiters set at 70km/h and I have not heard of any complaints that its drivers cannot accelerate out of trouble. These minibus drivers have brought the problem on themselves and yet they still complain. I would prefer to see minibuses replaced by eco-friendly buses that carry more passengers, thus reducing the fuel used per passenger. T. Greene, Yuen Long What do you think of the local comic sector? Most of the comics that are sold in Hong Kong come from Japan. It is difficult to find a local comic. As someone who collects comics as a hobby, I prefer Japanese comics to Hong Kong-produced ones. There is little I like about the local ones. There is not a lot of choice as there are only a few cartoonists here. Also, the most popular comics in the city are more suitable for men, but not teenagers and children. They only appear to deal with two themes - love stories and martial arts tales. However, Japanese comics are more varied. Hong Kong comics are less creative than their Japanese counterparts. Even when it comes to martial arts, the Japanese publications explore more themes. Japanese comics attract a much larger readership. Chan Hoi-ki, Kwun Tong
