Philip Bowring makes a very good point about ageing in Hong Kong when he states that the government's "thinking is dominated by the belief that the elderly are a charity case" ("Work vital for HK's ageing", December 29). And he is right to demand that people should be allowed to work for a living, or to keep a position for as long as they wish, instead of "being retired", which is a discriminatory practice. A person at 55 or 60 may still have another 40-50 years to live, virtually another lifetime. Before we call the ageing population a problem, we should first ask who are the "elderly"? A distinction should be made between different stages of ageing, which are generally referred to as young old (55-70), middle old (70-85) and old old (85 plus). The "elderly" in Hong Kong are seen as feeble, disabled, yet does this mean useless? There should be an understanding that the slow reduction of some physical abilities does not make a person altogether "disabled" - no matter which age. My experience in Hong Kong is that many elderly people age very gracefully, keep up their mental and physical health, as well as their looks. It is a pity that the government, business sectors and developers view the changing demographics as a problem rather than as a chance to innovate and find new ways of addressing the needs of all members of society in a balanced and satisfying way. Isn't the care for the old also a Chinese cultural virtue, that of filial piety? Yes to care, but not in front of my residence ("Care home incentive scheme a total flop", December 30)? In this day and age, it should be possible to include care facilities in new developments and keep them pretty, sustainable and profitable. Why do we make ageing so ugly and look like hospitalisation? It may be possible to change mindsets when we see that ageing can be graceful and the end of life peaceful. With a positive and forward-looking attitude, the situation could be seen as a challenge for developers and the government to dare and engage the creative community - especially architects, designers and social institutions - to help find acceptable, satisfying solutions. This may lead to new business opportunities, as the next generation of elderly will be highly educated and affluent. There is a lot of room to move forward constructively. Philine Bracht, Lantau