I UNDERSTAND a footbridge is to be built across the creek at Tai O, to afford easier access for the increasing number of tourists who visit the town. If this is the case, it will remove not only the picturesque punt ferry (a tourist attraction in itself), but also the livelihood of the elderly, if often curmudgeonly, ladies who operate it. Might I suggest, if this bridge is to go ahead, a toll be charged to tourists and visitors (but not local residents), the proceeds from which could ensure these belle-dames a pension, should they need it. Any extra income might be given to the local kai fong association for the benefit of the community. It is no bad thing to increase tourism but not at the expense of local tradition and spectacle. MARTIN BOOTH Langport Somerset, UK
