bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Appalled by proposal to join islands
The website of the Hong Kong Tourism Board features a prominent section on 'Great Outdoors Hong Kong', citing 'breath- taking natural scenery ... far from the city's restless pace'. 
How can it be, then, that the so-called Development Bureau can come up with a reclamation plan that would involve the destruction of much of this natural scenery in an attempt to meet supposed land bank targets?
 The latest plan contains gems of imbecility, such as the proposed joining of Beaufort and Po Toi  islands, which indicate a staggering level of contempt for every effort that is currently being made to conserve the natural wonders and clean up the environment in this 'special' zone.
Special indeed, if such ludicrous suggestions are even permitted to see the light of day.
 How alarming that there would appear to be no sense of judgment within the  bureau on the practicality of  its own proposals and how shameful that such destructive proposals can even be considered.
Still, as long as these bureaucratic minions can meet their planning targets, who cares about the consequences? 
Asia's world city? What a joke.
Mike Tinworth, Lantau
Destruction, not genuine development
The government lost the battle over the destruction of Victoria Harbour. So now it has decided to ruin, whoops, 'enhance land supply' elsewhere.
 In case it is not clear quite what level of destruction is thought possible by our 'can't see beyond a shopping mall' leadership, consider the implications.
 Apart from its batholithic beauty, Lo Chau Mun (the Beaufort Channel) is the deepest part of  Hong Kong waters. To fill it in will require doing what's known as a Chek Lap Kok.
 What I mean by that is, destroying Lo Chau (Beaufort Island), and no doubt much of Po Toi too, to fill the hole.
To reclaim between Peng Chau and  Hei Ling Chau  will require the levelling of both those islands, and  so on. Not the mere Comprehensive Environmental Degradation Department then; more, the Complete Environmental Destruction Department.
As Tom Holland eloquently argued  ('Hong Kong's government planners are out of control', January 6), there's been enough of the Civil Engineering and Development Department.
Stephen Davies, Tai Hang
Spoon-fed system bad for pupils
As a Form Seven student, I am having to immerse myself in my preparations for the forthcoming A-level examinations.  
Having studied for 16 years and  approaching the end of my period in secondary school, I have to admit that I have become bored and completely fed up with the education system in Hong Kong. 
I sometimes despair when I look at the huge piles of notes and books on my desk. 
No matter how hard I work, often late into the night, the workload I face never seems to ease.
 I even feel guilty if I take a break from my studies to have a nap.  
The A-level syllabus is enormous and I wonder if those in positions of authority have stopped to look at things from a student's perspective. 
I used to be very enthusiastic about acquiring knowledge, but that changed when I started to study for the Certificate of Education Examination and A-level exams. 
Every day at school, there is exam-drilling for pupils and it never ends. I am now so familiar with the format that I expect to get high grades, but have to question if that is the real meaning of education. 
Hong Kong has long been notorious for its spoon-fed way of learning and sadly, while efforts have been made to improve the situation, they have been in vain and pupils continue to be frustrated by the present set-up in schools. 
Those who have sat A-level exams would surely agree with me that it is not an exam which tests your intelligence or learning ability. 
Instead, it tests your powers of endurance and memory capacity. Some of the material on the syllabus is actually tertiary standard. 
I do not understand why Form Seven students have to study something that is beyond their abilities. 
Of course, education reforms mean that this is the last year of the A-level exam. 
However, officials have to understand that, when they make changes, this can be disruptive to teachers and students. 
Vanessa Cheng Wat-kwan, Lai Chi Kok
Cathay has good baggage arrival times
 I would like to respond to the letter from Jochen Krug ('Long wait for luggage at the airport', January 9),  which referred to a delay in the delivery of baggage following the arrival of Cathay Pacific flight CX288 at Hong Kong International Airport on December 30. 
First of all, we regret that Mr Krug had to wait longer than usual for his baggage to arrive following a long flight from Frankfurt. We can understand his frustration with the delay.
Our records show that the aircraft arrived at Bay 26 at 7.10am and the first batch of bags reached the arrival hall within 17 minutes, which is within our defined standards. 
However, there was, as Mr Krug mentioned, a prolonged delay in delivering the remaining bags to the baggage carousel. Announcements were made in the arrival hall at 15-minute intervals to alert passengers to the delay.
While I cannot comment on the general situation for baggage waiting times at the airport, I would like to stress that Cathay Pacific's baggage delivery performance is very high in relation to industry standards. 
Statistics show that, for the period January to December 2011, about 97 per cent of the first batch of bags from the aircraft were on the carousel within 17 minutes of the actual arrival time.
Paul Loo, general manager,  Hong Kong International Airport,  Cathay Pacific Airways
Change the  law on right of abode
It seems that the only  way  the government can solve the problem of mainland expectant mothers coming to Hong Kong is to  get the central government to change the Basic Law  and not grant right of abode to these babies. 
Hong Kong is such a small place compared with the mainland. How can we accommodate so many people without causing social problems?  
Furthermore, these people never contributed to the Hong Kong government's coffers, but are given certain rights.  
 The city's  administration is now suggesting  the creation of man-made islands in order to take in more  mainland people - for what purpose?
I. Wong, Wong Chuk Hang



Letters