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Letters

HK needs control of its immigration
Given that Hong Kong's top court struck down the seven-year residency rule on welfare eligibility, more recent immigrants may now apply for social welfare benefits.
As the financial secretary has anticipated, with more people eligible for welfare, this could put additional strain on public resources ("Bigger welfare bill will impact budget: minister", December 23).
It is wrong to lay any blame on the Court of Final Appeal for the bigger financial burden. The blame lies with the Basic Law. The court is a convenient scapegoat used by populists to discredit the independent judicial system.
Hong Kong does not have a merit-based system for mainlanders applying to migrate here for their family. The government has to accept whoever is assigned by the relevant mainland authority. So those without sufficient skills to support themselves can become Hong Kong residents.
The seven-year rule was a passive plan to cut incentives for these people. Under the rule, they could make a realistic assessment of whether it was feasible for them to live in Hong Kong, and if they would be better off having a family reunion in their hometown.
Now that the policy is gone, Hong Kong people should fight to reclaim from the mainland the autonomy to set immigration policy.
Accusing the court is merely a distraction. We should not be disappointed by the fact that judges will not bend laws. When a Basic Law provision no longer serves the interests of Hong Kong people, the right thing to do is to seek an amendment.
The choice of living on welfare will be attractive to many. It will now be more worthwhile offering a bribe for a one-way ticket to this welfare wonderland. Given that there is so little transparency on the mainland, we should expect to see more migrants seeking welfare benefits.
This is why there is a desperate need for Hong Kong to reclaim immigration autonomy through an amendment to the Basic Law. Then we can stop benefit seekers from overwhelming the welfare system.
Leung Ka-kit, Yau Tsim Mong
 
US must rein in Japan for world peace
I refer to the report ("Beijing and Seoul furious at Abe's visit to war shrine", December 27).
It stands to reason that practically all of the Asian countries which were invaded by Japan, before and during the second world war, have been furious about the visit to the Yasukuni shrine by Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe.
It appears to show Japan's lack of repentance over its war crimes.
If the world's superpower, the United States, now an ally of Japan for political reasons, has any sense of righteousness, it should act swiftly.
Washington should warn Tokyo to desist from any similar ill-judged moves, which are detrimental to world peace and harmony.
Peter Wei, Kwun Tong
 
Resolve our conflicts with mainlanders
Conflicts between mainlanders and local citizens in Hong Kong cannot be ignored.
The government appears to take a wait-and-see attitude, but I don't think that is the way to deal with the problem, especially when it involves issues such as a lack of kindergarten places.
The administration should be addressing the shortage of school places. But it also has to look at the conflicts between mainlanders and Hongkongers in a wider context.
Hong Kong citizens also cannot ignore the episodes of aggravation.
When there is a disagreement, quarrelling, which can escalate to violence, is not the way to deal with the problem.
We need to find suitable and acceptable ways to deal with mainland visitors.
May Wong, Ma On Shan
 
Tight Russian security can protect Games
The death toll in the two suicide bombing attacks in the Russian city of Volgograd is now 34.
These blasts have led to global attention being focused on security issues in Russia, especially with the winter Olympics being due to start in Sochi next month.
I have read that security has been tightened significantly in Moscow and in Volgograd and the government of President Vladimir Putin says everything is now under control.
However, I have to ask if this is really the case. Can Moscow really guarantee a safe environment for spectators and competitors at the winter Games? I suspect many Russians have their doubts.
It must be difficult for ordinary Russians to comprehend what has happened - that, even in a country with a lot of security, the bombers were not stopped.
In fact, I do not think the Olympics will be badly affected, because the level of security there is so high.
The main problem for the Russian government is how to regain the trust of the Russian people.
Dominic Cheung, Tseung Kwan O 
 
CY needs a sense of humour
Last month Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah had an egg thrown at him while attending a political forum in North Point. Obviously the protester was not happy with the track record of the government.
Mr Tsang joked that luckily he was not wearing a good suit that day.
However, when Mr Tsang was questioned by a reporter about the possible real target, a stern Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying [sitting next to him] advised him not to comment on this issue. Mr Leung later condemned the act and talked of police looking into the matter and following legal recourse.
This incident clearly showed some of the qualities that are required from a politician.
Mr Tsang gave the appropriate response and showed how something like this should be dealt with.
However, our chief executive, with his show of righteous indignation, created a bad impression.
Internet users reacted by saying he and his government should fulfil their responsibilities before expressing anger over the anti-government protesters.
I believe his popularity ratings will continue to fall and we will see more strong feelings of public discontent. The silent majority will step out and voice its opinions.
If Mr Leung wants to become a skilled politician, he will have to learn to have a sense of humour.
Eleanor Lui Lok-ching, Lai Chi Kok
 
The birth of the modern welfare state
The report on the rise of baby abandonment in China is most alarming ("Shelters for dumped babies 'the lesser of two evils'", December 29).
It indicates the breakdown of social structures arising from rapid industrialisation, the factory exploitation of young women, and poverty.
Europe in the 1700s suffered a plague of child abandonment and infanticide.
In 1741 in London, sea captain Thomas Coram founded the first foundling hospital for abandoned children.
The French, determined to reduce the number of deserted babies, installed a turntable in the walls of their foundling homes in order to protect the anonymity of the mothers.
By the end of the century, 250,000 babies a year were left at the foundling hospitals of Paris.
Tragically, because of poor sanitation and lack of expertise in child care, nearly all the babies died.
Without adequate maternal care, the babies would refuse nutrition and die.
As late as 1915, a survey of foundling hospitals in the United States revealed that only in a handful of these institutions did any child live longer than one year. In response, the authorities began farming care out to paid wet nurses who would raise the babies.
When the mothers found out about this, they began depositing their babies in the foundling hospitals and then, through a ruse, retrieved their own children, raised them, and collected the wet-nurse fee. When the authorities discovered this, they asked themselves, "Why don't we just pay the mothers instead?"
And that was the birth of our aid to dependent children and the modern welfare state.
William DuBay, Ap Lei Chau
 
Bank's poor solution to its card problem
As has been thoroughly covered in these columns already, HSBC, without any thought for its clients, signed an exclusive agreement with UnionPay to remove Plus, which has resulted in customers not being able to use their cards at ATM machines in a number of countries.
After so many highly critical letters in this paper from outraged customers who could not withdraw cash abroad, the bank has this solution.
In a leaflet, HSBC tells customers they can get another card to pack in their bulging wallets, which will only be able to access their current accounts, as opposed to the old system where you only needed one and could access any account you wanted.
And the headline in the leaflet they sent out was, "HSBC expands ATM coverage". As if they have made some improvement.
Dallas Reid, Wan Chai


Letters to the Editor, January 3, 2014

Wreckage of the bombed trolleybus. Photo: AP

CSSA bill after court's decision will impact budget: John Tsang Chun-wah

Financial Secretary John Tsang 

Beijing and Seoul furious at Shinzo Abe's visit to Yasukuni Shrine

Shinzo Abe (centre) steps into a diplomatic row as he follows a Shinto priest into the Yasukuni Shrine yesterday. Photo: Reuters

Japan's Prime Minister Abe arrives at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine to pay tribute to the war dead in Tokyo. Photo: Reuters

The gate of the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. Photo: Reuters

Heng's view

Shelters for dumped babies 'the lesser of two evils'

An abandoned newborn baby cries in an incubator after he was rescued from a sewage pipe at a hospital in Jinhua. Photo: Reuters

Opinion

Given that Hong Kong's top court struck down the seven-year residency rule on welfare eligibility, more recent immigrants may now apply for social welfare benefits.


Letters to the Editor, January 3, 2014

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Given that Hong Kong's top court struck down the seven-year residency rule on welfare eligibility, more recent immigrants may now apply for social welfare benefits.

Given that Hong Kong's top court struck down the seven-year residency rule on welfare eligibility, more recent immigrants may now apply for social welfare benefits.