Rail opponents lack convincing alternatives I wonder how many of the young people who participated in the January 16 protest about the express rail link have studied and grasped all the economic costs and benefits of the project. The protesters are against the demolition of Tsoi Yuen village, but do they have an alternate viable plan? They demanded face-to-face talks with Secretary of Transport and Housing Eva Cheng, but besides shouting abuse do they have an alternate viable plan that makes sense? The opponents of the express rail terminal planned for West Kowloon propose that it should be located at Kam Sheung Road in the New Territories, which they claim will reduce the project cost by half. Have they presented any actual calculations by experts to prove this? Their proposal of having only 10 platforms in this suggested terminal shows how little they have grasped the true figures of anticipated traffic flows. Have they calculated the time it would take to travel from Kam Sheung station to various parts of Hong Kong? Not to mention the extra road and rail networks that would need to be built to bring this internal travel time to a reasonable figure. We can fully understand young people have a lot of grievances, but to blindly oppose whatever the government proposes and to protest just for the sake of showing discontent without having any constructive counterproposals will not help to build a better Hong Kong. Young people would do well to formulate some practical proposals to present to the government rather than shouting slogans. The government on the other hand needs to change its way of communicating with the people. As with other projects there has been a consultation process. However we have to ask if it has been done efficiently and if opposition views were taken seriously. At present when officials meet with the opposition side (the pan-democrats, for example), there is no communication and both sides are at fault. Communication can only be achieved when both sides are prepared to compromise and understand the difficulties of the other side and are ready to adjust their own starting gambit repeatedly in order to achieve a final result acceptable to both sides. The present communication mode is that both sides have transmitters only but no receivers. Is this real communication? Alex Woo, Tsim Sha Tsui Police rougher than protesters I was outside the Legislative Council building from 9am on January 16 until 2am the following morning. Throughout this entire period I did not see violence on the part of the protesters - that is, violence as I would define it, meaning the use of force with the objective of doing harm. Some people climbed over the fences that had been set up by police. There was a scuffle for 10 minutes as people defied unreasonable orders that were violating their right to demonstrate. For example, only about four or five individuals tried to get into the Legco building but they were surrounded by reporters and photographers. Police used pepper spray even on demonstrators who were already sitting down and who were about five metres away from the incident. That kind of behaviour would be closer to my definition of violence than the behaviour of the protesters. I was really surprised by the response of the mainstream media and the way it reported these incidents. Virginia Yue, Fanling Groups must work together In the past few weeks the construction of the express rail link has been the subject of heated debate in Hong Kong. One of the groups involved from the post-1980s generation has been criticised by some members of the public. Many of these young people protested because they felt the government had turned a deaf ear to their views and they wanted more consultation. What happened clearly illustrates a lack of communication between these young people and the government. They have not been given the opportunity to get involved in public affairs. The problems related to the rail link acted as a catalyst for the post-1980s group whose members already had grievances regarding the administration. Despite their misgivings, I still think it is important for the different parties and groups to collaborate. Working together is still the best solution. When it is formulating policies the government must take into account the opinions of different groups in society. It must be willing to co-operate with them so that we can work together and strive towards a better future for Hong Kong. Isaac Li Chak-hon, Lam Tin Project cost unconvincing I am for rational discussion of any public issues and for full public participation. A budget of HK$66.9 billion is a big investment. Citizens were entitled to get a thorough justification for the express rail project from officials. I still wonder if, instead, we could not have tried to think of ways to make our existing rail system in Hong Kong link up with the mainland's high-speed network? We should have explored the possibility of doing this with much less public expenditure, say HK$6 billion, even if the trip took a bit longer. Even though it has won the debate and got the project approved, I hope the government will keep people informed about the new rail link and the benefits it will bring. There are still people who are sceptical about its benefits and who do not support the rail link or the amount of money being spent on it. Joseph Ko, Wan Chai Exodus from the church I refer to the letter by Walter Puccetti ('Church still as relevant as ever', January 25). Relevant to what? People are dropping out of the Catholic Church like snowflakes. Its biggest congregations by far are now in the developing world where solid secular education is playing catch up. On a recent three-month hike in France and Spain, traditional Catholic countries, I saw numerous situations where priests are being imported from Africa. In one French village an elderly priest I spoke to said he was now responsible for almost 60 churches due to a lack of priests and a greatly dwindling number of parishioners. In another, on an ancient pilgrimage trail I stayed overnight in a convent in which there was just one nun - from Korea. There can be no intelligent or rational response to the religious dogma espoused by your correspondent. Dogma does not depend on facts or evidence; it is set in stone. Likewise there can be no such thing as serious 'inter-denominational discussion' because the arguments on both sides are fixed never to be even lightly swayed one way or the other. That's why dogma is dangerous. As the great Billy Connolly remarked: 'Beware of people who have only one book.' Peter Sherwood, Discovery Bay License sellers of tobacco Retailers in Hong Kong sell cigarettes to minors in the face of tobacco control laws designed to protect children ('Most stores still selling cigarettes to teens', January 25). This is nothing new. Sting operations in Hong Kong from 1987 have shown the same thing - that retailers are flaunting the law. Bans globally on sales to minors are not effective unless they are given real teeth. The best way forward for Hong Kong is to license retailers to sell cigarettes. If they are then found to be selling cigarettes to those under age, they lose their cigarette licence. It might also be an appropriate time to remove tobacco displays from their prominent positions in supermarkets and other stores. Dr Judith Mackay, director, Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control Allowance for which home? The Education Bureau native English-speaking teachers' newsletter, issue 12, states that almost 70 secondary-school NETs have been teaching in Hong Kong for 10 years. Is it really appropriate that these teachers continue to receive a special allowance from the Hong Kong taxpayer? The special allowance is supposed to support NETs who are working in a culture and location far from their 'home country'. Having used Hong Kong as their home base for 10 years, brought up their families in the city, created social networks, educated their children here and received permanent identity status, these teachers have demonstrated that Hong Kong is their home now. It is time for the bureau to withdraw the special allowance from these long-serving NETs and reallocate the HK$10 million it would save annually to more worthwhile causes. Tom Grindy, Fo Tan Fit for fitness The government has encouraged more citizens to do various forms of exercise including walking, jogging, running and cycling along the promenade between Sha Tin and Tai Po along Tolo Harbour. For health and safety reasons, I suggest that the relevant department should install drinking fountains outside the toilets and first-aid stations that are located in the area. Paul Tsang, Happy Valley
