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Letters

House prices have escalated out of control
I refer to the report ("Flat sales buoyant at Ma On Shan development", October 12).
Seldom does a day go by without a newspaper reporting on the ridiculously high price of flats in Hong Kong. Your article described how homebuyers snapped up 187 of 200 flats released to the market on October 11. The estimated average price was HK$12,800 per square foot. So what are the underlying reasons behind skyrocketing property prices?
High demand is the main factor. Hong Kong is a small place, but with a population of seven million and limited supply of suitable accommodation there is a constant demand, particularly for small flats.
Government policies are adding fuel to the fire, such as the decision [now reversed] to end the Home Ownership Scheme.
It is plain to see that there is a supply-demand imbalance in the property market, but the government is doing little to address the problem. It is not right that middle-class families have to use most of their income to buy a small flat, not to mention the obstacles to home ownership faced by those on lower incomes. It is difficult, if not impossible, for many to buy a decent home in Hong Kong. For many young people it is an impossible dream.
Ridiculously high property prices are destroying the future of the city. A growing number of people are living in inadequate flats. Hongkongers are losing hope in the future of the city.
Tsang Hiu-mei, Tseung Kwan O
 
HK needs to prepare for an outbreak
Are Hong Kong's hospitals prepared for Ebola? It is only a matter of time - and probably sooner rather than later - that one or more Ebola patients lands on our shores.
Is the government ready and are the hospitals equipped? Do we have sufficient doctors, medicines and clothing, and have quarantine areas been identified?
Should we consider closing down Chungking Mansions and buildings where patients are more likely to come from? Think about how many times our government has reacted to crises instead of being ready.
Brian C. Catton, Tsim Sha Tsui
 
Controlling Ebola is global responsibility
Since the start of the Ebola outbreak, wealthy countries have given emergency equipment and support to affected areas in West Africa.
European countries and the US have donated medical supplies, food and daily necessities to the areas hit by the epidemic. They have also sent health care workers to help treat patients.
We must be on guard against the spread of the virus. All nations need to limit travel to West Africa and quarantine anyone coming from this area to help slow the spread of Ebola.
In daily life, all individuals must ensure good personal hygiene and wash their hands often. Only by doing so can we prevent the spread of Ebola around the world.
Tan Qiqi, Yau Yat Chuen
 
Palestinians don't enjoy equal rights
I was surprised by the letter from Erica Lyons, founder of Asian Jewish Life ("HK and Israel have much in common", October 12). She is wrong when she claims Palestinians in Israel have equal rights and that Israel is similar to Hong Kong.
No one in Hong Kong has ever been killed with a bulldozer, as was the case with American peace activist Rachel Corrie, who was crushed to death in March 2003 while trying to block an army bulldozer that was demolishing a Palestinian home. No Israeli has been implicated.
Israel is also the only country today that detains minors and subjects them to military trial. In 2013, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child estimated that 7,000, mainly teenagers, had been arrested and detained between 2002 and 2012.
As for claims of free assembly, why, then, were two unarmed Palestinian teenagers killed by Israeli snipers in May 2014?
In mid-July, four young children playing on a beach in Gaza were killed by an Israeli gunship, and, yet again, no Israelis were punished.
Why else are a growing number of soldiers joining Breaking the Silence, an Israeli group that collects testimonies from soldiers about immoral practices of the Israeli military in the occupied territories?
While Ms Lyons wrongly claims Israel left Gaza in 2005, the nine-year blockade has turned Gaza into the world's largest open-air prison.
On the political front, Knesset member Hanin Zoabi, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, has been barred from most parliamentary activity for six months for speaking against the Gaza bombardment.
It is also Israel that recently confiscated nearly 400 hectares of Palestinian land in violation of international law, one of many land grabs since 1948. While Israelis live under civil law, Palestinians live under draconian Israeli orders and are subject to military courts.
As for claims Arabs enjoy equal rights, I urge Ms Lyons to read the June 2007 report by the Israel Democracy Institute, where about 56 per cent of Israeli Jews publicly voice their opposition to full equality for Arabs and 78 per cent reject the idea Arab parties should join the government or any crucial decision-making body.
No amount of smooth talking can change facts unless the root causes of this conflict are resolved, that is, an immediate halt to illegal settlements in the West Bank, removal of the Gaza blockade and just treatment of the indigenous population of what is now Israel, the Palestinians.
Siddiq Bazarwala, Discovery Bay
 
US aid to Gaza and Israel promotes war
I was astounded to read that [in August] the executive and legislative branches of the US government approved the disbursal of hundreds of millions of dollars for Israel to replenish its special missile arsenal Iron Dome.
Then a few days ago I read that the US administration had committed hundreds of millions of dollars to "rebuild" Gaza.
If I had the power, I would vote out of office every senator and congressperson who voted for these war-promoting authorisations of US taxpayers' funds. Where is the logic here? It is naive and preposterous.
The message to the world is that you may fight and kill each other and America will help you to do it repeatedly.
Daniel F. Downes, New Jersey, US
 
Police have a lot of public support
I felt very sad to read reports of frontline police officers being despondent over the criticisms made against them during the students protests in Hong Kong.
I just want to urge them not to feel depressed.
Many of us ordinary citizens appreciate all these officers have done to contain the harm and damage that could have resulted from the students' provocation initially.
We witnessed very clearly how students used umbrellas to poke at the frontline police. An umbrella can definitely be used as a weapon and it can hurt someone, seriously. Pepper spray just causes temporary discomfort.
I am concerned that the true situation has been distorted by the media, by students and by some cunning adults.
E. Fung, Mid-Levels


Letters to the Editor, October 19, 2014

Chungking Mansions may pose a risk. Photo: SCMP

Flat sales buoyant at Ma On Shan development

Letters to the Editor, October 12, 2014

Arabs in Israel are represented in the Knesset. Photo: AP

Opinion

I refer to the report ("Flat sales buoyant at Ma On Shan development", October 12). Seldom does a day go by without a newspaper reporting on the ridiculously high price of flats in Hong Kong.
