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Letters

Hamstrung by long-held prejudice
Mengdi Lin has the story only partly correct in her article ("Birth quotas and Chinese patriarchy still a lethal combination for baby girls", January 1).
Lin places the majority of the blame for sex-selective abortion of female fetuses on China's one-child policy, rather than on Chinese patriarchy, where it properly belongs.
Lin cites as evidence for her argument India, which does not have a mandatory quota on children per family.
However, many well- documented studies show that India suffers similar child sex imbalances to China, and that the sex ratio becomes more and more distorted for second-, third- and fourth-born children.
This indicates that there is a lot of sex-selective abortion going on and the likely reason for the low annual abortion number Lin cites is because sex-selective abortion is illegal in India.
The conclusion is that the abortions are taking place, they just aren't being reported. So if China's one-child policy and India's no mandatory quota produce similar birth ratios, the problem is clearly not the system. Rather, the root cause is that neither of these two ancient civilisations has developed a consciousness that values equally the life of a male and a female baby.
This tragedy affects both countries since females undoubtedly can contribute equally, if not more than males, in modern economies.
One also has to wonder about the millions of men who will not be able to find a partner and hope that this does not exacerbate kidnapping and black-market trade in female brides.
Keith Noyes, Clear Water Bay 
 
Xi's bun shop visit not just a PR exercise
In order to keep in touch with the Chinese people, President Xi Jinping visited a Beijing pork bun shop and had a meal there ("'In touch' president buys pork buns", December 29).
After his visit, some people criticised him on the internet, saying the visit to the restaurant was just for show. They said that it was a tactic which was employed by Xi to present a positive image.
I do not agree and I think these spontaneous visits by the party's top officials to places like this shop are important.
What happened may have looked contrived to some, but occasions like that can really help ordinary citizens to have direct dialogue with the country's leaders.
While he was eating his meal Xi chatted to the other diners.
Many citizens in China say that nowadays there are few opportunities for them to get their views across to the government.
They say that because of this lack of communication, the country's leaders are failing to recognise the problems that they face.
Visits such as this by top party officials may help citizens share their feelings and it enables these leaders to hear different views.
It will boost Xi's image, because people will see a leader who pays for a basic meal and chats with them.
It may lead to them feeling more positive about the central government.
But while this kind of exercise can improve the image of Xi and his fellow leaders, the government still has to do more so that China can have a bright future.
Candiz Ng, Lok Fu 
 
Innocent victims of superstition
I am writing to these columns, because of my deep concern over the comprehensive and completely meaningless poaching which is going on especially in Africa, but also in Asia.
It has led to the killing of innocent animals, such as elephants, rhinoceroses and tigers.
Parts of these animals, including ivory, are used in traditional Chinese medicine.
What is happening is outrageous and it is a disaster.
Because of this illegal poaching, these animals have for many years faced the threat of extinction.
As long as Chinese consumers do not appreciate how serious this is and as long as they continue to believe in the medicinal properties of these animal parts, the killing will continue.
Something must be done to stop this mass slaughter.
Karin Sorensen, Galten, Denmark
 
Puzzled by 2017 election comments
It's a bit ironic that Basic Law Committee vice-chairwoman Elsie Leung Oi-sie said that a district "councillor's narrow interests do not merit a louder voice within the crucial committee" ("Debate heats up over giving district councillors seats on 2017 nominating panel", December 30).
Is it not the case that members of the Election Committee in the 2012 chief executive election served narrow sectorial interests, just like the functional constituencies in Legco?
I know many want a similar arrangement, with the 2012 Election Committee for the 2017 election to make up the future nominating committee.
How ironic that somehow they are less narrow than district councillors.
Jennifer Eagleton, Tai Po
 
Rich-poor gap fuels riots in Thailand
With respect to the current political rift in Thailand, there is much uncertainty regarding the country's geopolitical and socio-economic future.
The current altercations are caused by opposition to Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the amnesty bill that, had it been passed, would have pardoned various politicians indicted for corruption.
It would also have facilitated the return of the self-exiled former premier, and Yingluck's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra.
Corruption and abuse of power are two longstanding socio-economic issues that have detrimentally affected Thailand's growth and, more recently, its political stability.
The riots in Thailand are a reminder of how the avarice of the elite few can so violently split a country.
It is noteworthy that Thailand has one of the highest Gini co-efficients in the world, which means it possesses a very severe income disparity.
Sadly, because of the overwhelming amount of impecunious people, especially illegal immigrants in the country, anyone with what could be considered an average income in Hong Kong would be immediately catapulted into a clique of elitism in Thailand.
Also, some incidents have shown that there is an all-too-common attitude among ultra-rich Thais who consider themselves exempt from the nation's law. There is a growing gulf between Thailand's wealthy and poor.
The hypocritical elite's attitude is contributing to this vicious cycle of ever-increasing social disunity and enmity.
Charles Leung, Tsuen Wan
 
We can all help to reduce levels of waste
Every day we read news reports about global pollution and its impact on the environment.
A lot of emphasis has been placed on reducing coal consumption to reduce carbon, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions. But no one really looks at the very source of pollution, which is human extravagance.
In this materialistic world, people keep buying new clothes they do not need as fashion trends change and purchase high-performance cars just to show off. They are motivated by status.
There is so much waste, such as food waste, excessive air-conditioning, buying a new gadget even though the one you have still works and giving unnecessary gifts during festivals. Also, the gifts are wrapped in excessive packaging.
I wish everyone would stop and think about the amount of waste they generate and the energy that is wasted making these products nobody really needs.
Whenever we approach a festival when gifts will be given, we should pause and think about all this extravagance and how we can avoid it.
As individuals we can all take small steps to reduce the amount of unnecessary waste we generate. Collectively, this could add up to a significant change.
It could lead to a movement which is irreversible and which helps to curb the real and underlying cause of pollution.
We do not need to live a life of extravagance and we do not want the next generation growing up and failing to understand the difference between necessity and abundance.
Selwyn Saw, Ma On Shan
 
Taxpayers should not have to foot bill
I would like to add my voice to those who disagree with the Court of Final Appeal's ruling which will make newly arrived migrants eligible to apply for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA).
Immigration policies worldwide, such as in the United States, Canada, Australia and many other countries, are discriminatory.
They discriminate in favour of professionals, family members, investors and for many other reasons.
Kong Yunming, a new migrant who started the judicial review process, must have known about the restrictions before she came here. However, she chose to come even though she knew she would not be eligible for CSSA for seven years.
I do not see why Hong Kong taxpayers should have to shoulder this extra burden.
The government should quickly refer the case to the National People's Congress Standing Committee for further adjudication.
P. K. Lee, Tung Chung


Letters to the Editor, January 6, 2014

Xi Jinping talks to diners in the bun shop. Photo: SCMP

Opinion

Mengdi Lin has the story only partly correct in her article ("Birth quotas and Chinese patriarchy still a lethal combination for baby girls", January 1).


Letters to the Editor, January 6, 2014

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Mengdi Lin has the story only partly correct in her article ("Birth quotas and Chinese patriarchy still a lethal combination for baby girls", January 1).

Mengdi Lin has the story only partly correct in her article ("Birth quotas and Chinese patriarchy still a lethal combination for baby girls", January 1).