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Letters

Cantonese must be preserved
I refer to the report ("Guangzhou locals seek 'Cantonese Day'", July 25).
As a Cantonese speaker, I would be really disappointed if it was to become marginalised on the mainland by the promotion of Putonghua to encourage communication between Chinese.
This would destroy one aspect of the traditional culture of China, as Cantonese is regarded as a modern variant of the ancient Han language. It is, in fact, a much older language than Putonghua. The pronunciation and vocabulary are similar to the official language of the Tang dynasty.
Although it is not quite safe for mainlanders to demonstrate on the streets, it is necessary to stand up and protect our language and local culture.
I fear Cantonese might become lost for the next generation. In the last year, the only mainland Cantonese channel was shut down and there are now only Putonghua broadcasts available to mainland viewers.
There are other ways which may help to preserve Cantonese, excluding demonstrations and celebrating Cantonese Day; for example, using Cantonese as the Chinese language during school Chinese lessons and applying for it to be classed as intangible cultural heritage of China.
Lily Kwan, Kwai Chung
 
Import labour to speed up construction
Record-breaking transaction prices in the Hong Kong property market have dominated the headlines in the business sections of newspapers.
Some media attributed the rising trend to the introduction of Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill. Certainly the bill has come at an inappropriate time, but the supply-demand imbalance is still the deep-rooted cause of the overheated market. The government should have learned a lesson from recent market developments and focus its efforts on addressing the problems of supply shortage and rising construction costs.
The chairman of the Real Estate Developers Association said the bottleneck of property supply was partly due to the shortage of construction labour. Soaring labour costs also mean there is little room for cheaper private housing.
The government and the Construction Industry Council have spared no effort in encouraging young people to join the industry. But the turnover rate of young construction workers is disappointingly high; enduring the tough working environment in construction sites is difficult for them.
We should seriously consider the feasibility of importing construction workers. It would be a more flexible way to relieve the labour shortage while preventing the problem of unemployment which may occur when there is market reversal. After all, labour demand in the construction industry is cyclical.
When considering the pros and cons of importing labour, we should remember the plight of unemployed construction workers in the early 2000s.
Stanley Ip, Tseung Kwan O
 
Pilot training takes too long to complete
I refer to the front page of the Directory section of your paper ("Helping a dream take flight", July 19) about learning to fly with the Hong Kong Aviation Club.
Flight training is only for members but theory classes are open to the public.
Ronald Maurer, a general committee member of the club, said that training for a PPL(A) licence for planes takes two years to complete as training is at weekends at the Shek Kong airfield. By contrast, in the US, in Florida, for example, with excellent weather you can fly practically all year round and you can get a private pilot licence in two to three months.
I think the one- to two-year period in Hong Kong is too long and the club does not teach night or cross-country flying. This means, for example, that a pilot who qualifies will not know how to operate an aircraft when flying in another country at night.
Also, in the report, I was very surprised to see a photo of a Cessna two-seater B-HHN departing from Shek Kong. This aircraft has been around since the 1970s. I have no doubt there are rigorous inspections of the Cessna, as is the case with all the club's aircraft, but I strongly feel the club's planes should have been retired a long time ago.
Eugene Li, Deep Water Bay
 
Anti-Occupy figures are meaningless
More than 900,000 people have apparently put their names to the anti-Occupy Central signature campaign organised by the Alliance for Peace and Democracy, signifying that they want to achieve universal suffrage in a peaceful way.
If that is what the campaign wants to prove, what a wasteful exercise. Who in Hong Kong does not want universal suffrage peacefully?
Since the campaign is being run anyway, I cannot help but wonder what its real purpose is. I am especially confounded by what campaign spokesperson Robert Chow Yung said.
He stated that their target was to outnumber the 793,000 people who voted in Occupy Central's unofficial referendum. So how are these two numbers comparable?
I voted in the referendum; I also do not support Occupy Central.
If I also sign in this anti-Occupy campaign, by Mr Chow's reasoning I would be standing on opposite positions at the same time. I am certain that I am not.
My worry is that people who sign in this campaign would be branded as people who oppose what the Occupy Central's trio have been fighting for all along - genuine choice for the Hong Kong people in the 2017 chief executive election.
Occupy Central is only a means to an end, and by voicing your objection to it actually does not say very much.
It is just akin to saying you object to any law-breaking activities, even when it is for a noble cause. It says nothing about the sort of universal suffrage you want to have in 2017.
It says nothing about the reform you want to see in the nomination system. In fact, it does not even say you don't want civil nomination. It only says that you are against Occupy Central.
And I demand that this be the only conclusion from whatever number the campaign manages to obtain. It would be wrong if more meaning was attached to the turnout.
If this is not the result Mr Chow wants to publicise, I suggest he change the theme of the campaign to "Anti No-Screening Universal Suffrage".
In Occupy's referendum, all people were essentially asked was if they could accept a pre-screening nomination system.
John Cheng, Quarry Bay
 
Help talented mothers back to workplace
The government should encourage the establishment of more family-friendly child-care services.
Females nowadays have a higher education level and consequently are more interested in pursuing their own professional careers. But many mothers are deprived of the right to work as they have to take care of their children.
If more family-friendly child-care services were available to women they could concentrate better on their performance in the workplace, knowing that their children were being well looked after.
This would benefit different industries because the female workforce can offer certain skills and ideas which the male workforce may lack.
More importantly, mothers will regain the right to work.
Leung Ka-yan, Ma On Shan


Letters to the Editor, August 3, 2014

Construction sector is short of labour. Photo: Felix Wong

Guangzhou locals seek 'Cantonese Day' to help preserve mother tongue

Cantonese supporters rallied in Guangzhou in 2010. Photo: Felix Wong

Opinion

I refer to the report ("Guangzhou locals seek 'Cantonese Day'", July 25). As a Cantonese speaker, I would be really disappointed if it was to become marginalised on the mainland by the promotion of Putonghua to encourage communication between Chinese.
