Lai See | Villagers have a dig at mining tycoon's dirty money

We hear of an intriguing tale from Switzerland involving Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg and the 360 million Swiss francs (HK$3 billion) he paid in tax on his windfall after the Glencore initial public offering.

A large proportion of income tax in Switzerland is paid directly to the local community and, under a complex system, some of the funds are diverted to the poorest villages. Glasenberg's village of Rüschlikon had so much cash that people voted to reduce its taxes by 7 per cent. But some villages were uneasy at taking the money, saying it was tainted by the exploitative methods Glencore used to acquire it.

The unease has continued to grow; so much so that a number of villages over the next few months will be deciding by referendum - as is the Swiss custom - what do with the money. This weekend the village of Hedingen will vote on whether to give 110,000 Swiss francs to Swiss charities or to the countries it considers are ruthlessly exploited by international companies. How would the good people of Hong Kong react in a similar situation, we wonder?

Much as we support the ban on trawling in Hong Kong we can't help wondering about the curious request in yesterday's letters page in this newspaper by Dr P.M. So, assistant director (fisheries), Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.