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Turn south Lamma into country park
As an alternative energy producer, we wish Lucien Gambarota every success in partnering with developers to improve the eco-friendliness of their projects ('Green vision for project on Lamma', May 22).  
Agile Property Holdings, the company behind the proposal to turn south Lamma into a luxury resort and housing estate, is a very active developer on the mainland  and Mr Gambarota's inventions may help mitigate the environmental impact caused by its large-scale developments.
Where Living Lamma and environmentalists disagree with Mr Gambarota is on the suitability of south Lamma, an area of outstanding natural beauty, zoned for conservation, coastal protection and agriculture, to build the Baroque on Lamma, essentially destroying the landscape and ecological value of this area and calling it an 'eco-development'.
Mr Gambarota admits that 'Tung O can be hostile terrain when the city is hit by a typhoon. There can be 15-metre-high waves. This is why no one has shown any interest in living there and why land there is so cheap and underdeveloped.' 
Why, then, has the logical conclusion not been drawn that this site is clearly unsuitable for a marina?
Living Lamma believes that any kind of development will be a disaster for a conservation area of such importance and the existing zoning should not be open for negotiation or altered to serve private profit motives. 
The best way to protect south Lamma is to turn it into a country park. 
Romer's tree frogs, green turtles and other endangered species should not be sacrificed so that a few wealthy mainlanders can dock their yachts there. 
If a marina is needed to cater for their needs, let's build it in an area that is easily accessible, and where the necessary infrastructure is already in place.
On the other hand, Mr Gambarota's suggestions would set an excellent example for other developments in Hong Kong.
Laura Ruggeri, chairperson Living Lamma
Pragmatic approach to structures
The furore over illegal structures is the result of the government's past inaction.
Now, faced with the problem, the Lands Department acts in the only way it knows how - inspect and demolish when the structures are deemed illegal.
However, [many of] these structures have been around for a long time. As a result, the owners have perceived them to be acceptable because the government did nothing. In effect, the government has shown tacit agreement. I would suggest that the government take the following measures:
It should survey all structures to verify those that are safe.
Unsafe structures must be repaired or demolished. 
Surveys should be carried out periodically to ensure safety and that no further work is required.  
This is a sensitive issue, and if all structures are demolished people could suffer financial loss. The administration must take some of the blame because it did nothing for so long. 
Thomas Yeo, Yuen Long
Trails do not need all this concrete
I agree with your editorial on the government concreting hiking trails in the name of safety ('An exercise in misguided logic', May 29).  
I have been hiking and running on the trails across Hong Kong every other day for 18 years. My only accident occurred when I tripped and fell on a government cast-concrete slab which had become dislodged. As I fell, hitting the next dislodged  slab, my chin split open, requiring five stitches and leaving a permanent reminder of the government's concern for my safety.
Our country parks, with their natural trails, are a treasure and a truly remarkable contrast to our international urban city. My hiking visitors are wowed by them. Casting them in concrete for safety's sake is nonsense.
Melanie Nutbeam, Jardine's Lookout
Viewers want more free channels
I was confused by the warning issued by ATV's major shareholder   Wang Zheng ('ATV owner warns of free-to-air chaos', May 31). 
It was unclear if he was referring to political chaos.  
Given his membership of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, he may have concerns about the influence of the mass media.  However, Hong Kong is renowned for its  free market, where businesses compete with each other. 
Therefore, there is nothing wrong with having more broadcasting companies.  It will provide the public with more choice.
It  doesn't make sense that citizens in a cosmopolitan city like Hong Kong should have such a small number of free-to-air channels.  
If there are more channels, hopefully the people behind them, in order to get more viewers, will make an effort to provide good-quality programmes. In this way it can increase revenue and profits. 
Fierce competition will ensure broadcasters are moving in the right direction.  
Siu Leung-wing, Shau Kei Wan
Drinks scare can raise awareness
Ever more Taiwanese drink shops opened as the popularity of bubble tea grew last summer. People are now more wary following the discovery of the cancer-causing chemical DEHP in three sports drinks manufactured in Taiwan.  
The one positive thing to come out of this crisis is that, hopefully, it will make consumers more aware. 
So often, they buy a drink and do not think much about the ingredients. 
Following this tainted-drinks scare, I hope they will think more carefully about what is in the food and drink they consume.  
Hopefully now, if they have misgivings about some food item or drink they will report their concerns to the authorities. 
Pang Pei-yan, Ngau Tau Kok
Cows are an integral part of Sai Kung
I do not understand why there is this constant argument about the cows in Sai Kung. 
We have very little nature and wildlife left in Hong Kong. 
Do  citizens want the few remaining roaming animals to disappear? 
Those people who do not like our Sai Kung cows should avoid coming and filling up our roads. They would probably prefer to spend their time in a shopping mall.  Those people who have moved to Sai Kung and complain about the cattle  can move back to urban areas, with their apartments in concrete blocks.
In these areas there definitely will be no disturbance from cows on the neighbourhood streets.
I hear people complaining about the cow droppings, which are actually an excellent fertiliser. What about dog dirt, which is far worse than cow dung?  
Can we not finally end all the discussions about these so-called wild cows and just let them live in peace? 
They don't disturb anybody, they are not aggressive and they spend most of the time off the roads.
Do the people who are raising objections about the cattle really believe that there should be a cull?
It would be a shame if the government listened to the very few people who are against our bovine residents and decided to remove them from their current habitat,  let alone considered a cull. The cows belong in Sai Kung.
Andreas Schubert, Sai Kung
Will June 4 be discussed in lessons?
National education in the school curriculum can be seen in many Western countries, in some form or another such as  social studies and history. 
What Hong Kong people are afraid of is that such a course in schools here could be seen as propaganda, with pupils being taught some warped kind of  patriotism. 
I can guarantee in the very first class of this course, secondary pupils  in many schools, if not all, will raise their hands and ask about the June 4 incident. How will the teachers react? 
Will the Education Bureau issue a guideline saying teachers should duck this question or   deny there was such an incident?
Education is a process through which students acquire knowledge and learn reason.  
In Canada, school textbooks describe how the aboriginal Indians were treated by settlers.  
Will the Education Bureau in Hong Kong have the courage to incorporate the June 4 incident in its curriculum? 
Tony Yuen, Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada



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Lamma Island

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