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Letters

Protect rights of subdivided flat tenants
There have been days this summer when the very hot weather warning has been in force. During those days people living in subdivided units really suffer.
It is common to find flats in old buildings divided into a few units, which attract lower-income families as the rents are comparatively cheap.
Landlords will use all kinds of methods to maximise their profits. Electricity bills in subdivided units are often over priced, so tenants are forced to pay higher bills than they should.
As a result, they avoid using air conditioners or fans even when these hot weather warnings are in force.
According to some research, the temperatures in some subdivided units are very high, occasionally reaching 40 degrees Celsius.
The government should do something to prevent landlords from abusing their power. Some tenants forced to pay inflated electricity bills have disclosed that the fees collected by landlords were 30 per cent to 100 per cent higher than the electricity company would have charged.
The government should protect consumers and ensure that all citizens can consume electricity at an affordable price.
K. Kwok, Cheung Sha Wan
 
Force eateries to recycle uneaten food
Some people have called for hotels to be forced to recycle or give away uneaten food.
It is difficult to deal with the food waste problem nowadays, especially as our landfills are nearing capacity.
Firstly, some hotels and restaurants do not allow customers to take their uneaten food home. However, restaurants do not recycle it and just throw it away. If the restaurants don't want it, they should allow customers to take it away.
Secondly, uneaten food can be used for many different purposes. It can be used as animal feed or processed into fertiliser. Also it can be converted into biofuels to produce energy. If restaurants or hotels can recycle food, it could be very useful.
Finally, there are many elderly people who live alone and do not have enough food to eat. Restaurants and hotels could give uneaten food to them.
Chan Ho-fai, Tseung Kwan O
 
Food waste charge faces obstacles
Hong Kong's reputation is being damaged by environmental pollution. Some people living near our landfills say that sometimes the odour is unbearable, especially in summer.
To tackle this problem, some organisations suggest the Hong Kong government imposes food waste charges for daily household food waste, a major constituent of the municipal solid waste in Hong Kong. It seems a logical move, but I object to this proposal.
First, the criteria for defining household food waste are unclear. For example, should waste from private home-based restaurants be counted as household or business?
Owners of these establishments are likely to protest if they have to pay for food left by their "guests". The regulation of private kitchens has long been a controversial subject. Imposing food charges on their owners will inevitably add fuel to the flames.
Moreover, there is an administrative difficulty in imposing charges for household food waste.
The methodology used to charge residents is indeed a contentious subject. Should the government adopt a quantity-based or flat-rate system?
A quantity-based system will incur higher administrative and monitoring costs, while a flat-rate system is unfair because it penalises those who waste less food. If a quantity-based system is to be used, how can the government assess food waste volumes?
In some countries, residents are required to purchase specially designed rubbish bags and put their food waste in them.
Should we follow suit or try other methods? No matter what approach the government chooses, implementation will be problematic and costs will be incurred.
While some people think that a charge is the only way to reduce food waste, it may not work and may even result in people breaking the law. People may dump food waste in front of a neighbour's door or in public bins. Even worse, people might hide food waste, which could attract cockroaches and other insects, posing a health risk.
Justin Chan, Hung Hom
 
Don't attribute blame solely to Israel
I refer to the article by Gwynne Dyer ("A Gaza war with no victory and no hope of a solution", July 16).
It regurgitates the mainstream media's favourite talking points and, rather than being a sober assessment after careful analysis, is nothing but a cynical diatribe that fits with a certain ideology, truth be damned.
A casual review of headlines in major news publications with a left-leaning ideology reveals the alacrity with which all the blame is sheeted to one side - Israel - or some sort of moral equivalence (or lack thereof) is assigned to both parties. In this way, a democratic Israel, where the rule of law prevails and the military goes to extraordinary lengths to avoid hurting civilians, is something that is often forgotten.
When the Palestinians do their best to stash their rockets under residential buildings, mosques and hospitals, where they are guaranteed some civilian casualties, the propaganda war that is waged against Israel by them and their sponsors in the liberal West is comparable to a ruthless terrorist outfit that lacks a conscience.
For Dyer to claim there is "common interest in perpetuating the current bloodbath" is nothing but a travesty of the truth, and only shows an effort to drum up "evidence" of pre-conceived and desired conclusions.
He also ignores reality and makes the facile argument that somehow Israel's retaliatory bombing runs are the starting point for the Hamas rocket attacks on civilians, rather than the other way around. The rocket attacks were happening long before the kidnap of three Israeli teenagers.
Dyer is no fan of Israel's premier, Benjamin Netanyahu, but he should consider his position with more intellectual rigour.
The reality is that Israel has been more than willing to trade land for peace, as happened with Egypt and Jordan, where the leaders gave the bloodlust a rest and tried a new approach.
Returning the Gaza Strip has delivered no such result.
On the contrary, the party in charge there prefers that Israel and its people are blown to a million pieces.
A. B. John, Kowloon Tong
 
High rents chief concern of residents
I refer to the article by Steve Vines ("Consumed by greed", July 10) in which he relates the story that the catering functional constituency representative Tommy Cheung "airily dismissed the idea that the No 1 issue for most of us was unaffordable rents".
In the spirit of freedom of information, a simple way to avoid further argument is for restaurants to print prices of dishes according to their direct production costs and, at the bottom of the menu, tell us "rental charge xx per cent" under the usual "service charge 10 per cent".
Could somebody with the information enlighten us as to what xx per cent might be in, say, a restaurant in Central?
No doubt this suggestion will be supported by those socially-minded people who have warned us about the dire effects on the economy of the minimum wage.
S. P. Li, Lantau


Letters to the Editor, July 20, 2014

Hotels in the city waste so much food. Photo: SMP

In Gaza, a war with no winners

A Palestinian confronts an Israeli soldier during a demonstration against Israeli military action in Gaza. Photo: AP

Why Hong Kong is losing its entrepreneurial spirit

Some in the city fly above the obstacles to competition. Photo: AP

Illustration: Sarene Chan

While planned incubators like the Qianhai-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub have their place, start-ups are hindered by cartels, high rents and a shrinking pool of funds for small businesses. Photo: SCMP Pictures

SCMP Education

Opinion

There have been days this summer when the very hot weather warning has been in force. During those days people living in subdivided units really suffer.


Letters to the Editor, July 20, 2014

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}There have been days this summer when the very hot weather warning has been in force. During those days people living in subdivided units really suffer.

There have been days this summer when the very hot weather warning has been in force. During those days people living in subdivided units really suffer.