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Letters

Students must consider needs of others
I have considerable sympathy for the students' desire for a clearer future in Hong Kong, but enough is enough and I would ask them to consider the following.
They are ignoring the substantial inconvenience caused to millions of residents and many businesses that do not support their methodology.
They are blatantly discarding the rule of law by failing to comply with court orders to cease their illegal occupation.
The rule of law is the basis of all democratic rights and the students, by their disobedience of the law, show they cannot work within a fully democratic system, but only in an anarchic one.
They are allowing themselves to be influenced, if not used, by foreigners to try to embarrass China. It is known that some of the organisers have been in contact with the National Endowment for Democracy, which is a US government funded organisation.
The students are utterly naive about their ability to change the mind of Beijing on the issue of fully democratic elections, since such a concession to Hong Kong would mean a tsunami of similar demands on the mainland.
They seem to have forgotten the "one country" part of the formula.
Finally, the students fail to recognise that the economic future, indeed survival, of Hong Kong is at the mercy of China, so while they might get a free vote, what use is that if they have no jobs?
Many democracies around the world today suffer youth unemployment rates as high as 50 per cent.
China has demonstrated time and again that it intends to ensure the economic success of Hong Kong.
The police have been very patient with the protesters.
I therefore urge the students to give up their unlawful action and let Hong Kong people return to their routine lives.
Do not tarnish any further Hong Kong's reputation as a safe, law-abiding, efficient and loveable city.
In the final analysis, what more could one ask for?
George Forrai, Mid-Levels
 
Protesters should change their tactics
Occupy Central has affected a lot of people.
Many businesses in Admiralty and Mong Kok near the protest sites have experienced a drop in turnover. Traffic in these areas and bus routes have also been seriously disrupted.
There are also areas blocked to pedestrians because of the barricades put up. Many people need to leave home earlier to get to work on time as they have to make detours.
I understand the activists' call for genuine democracy in Hong Kong, but I totally disagree with their tactics.
Even though they are violating the laws of Hong Kong, they still think they are right.
This is a vibrant international city where innovation thrives within the framework of the rule of law and a civilised society, but the protesters violate these laws.
Although the original intentions of Occupy Central are good, it should find other ways to get its views across to the government, ways that do not disturb the daily lives of citizens.
The protesters should end their occupation immediately so that order can be restored.
Chloe Tam Wing-sum, Tsuen Wan
 
HK is under attack by white elephants
The report ("Cruise terminal under fire despite extra berthings", October 28) on the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal states that Legislative Council critics have described the venture as a "white elephant".
Probably so, but legislators should be aware that there is a whole herd of white elephants tramping inexorably towards Hong Kong.
They have been fostered and nurtured by a caring government, and they will soon be upon us seeking sustenance.
And as we all know, what white elephants enjoy above all else is billions of dollars taken from the taxpayers' pockets.
These white pachyderms come in many shapes and sizes (such as the high-speed rail link, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge and the third runway at the airport) but all share a common attribute; they have an enormously greedy appetite for public funding.
I trust that Hong Kong's financial oasis will not run dry.
Gordon Andreassend, Tai Kok Tsui
 
Limit energy use to reduce pollution
There is no doubt that Hong Kong's air quality has deteriorated over the past few years.
It can partly be attributed to the lifestyles of Hongkongers. For example, we use air conditioners for extended periods and as a consequence create greenhouse gases.
If we do not try to curb air pollution, the problem of global warming will only get worse.
If we continue to turn a blind eye to the problem, we could end up doing irreversible damage to the health of citizens. Investors will be driven away and fewer tourists will visit the city.
The government should organise a "no air conditioning day" which all citizens should support. This would help to highlight the need to burn less fossil fuel.
However, we don't have to wait for a designated day to play our part when it comes to saving energy.
We should turn off lights in empty rooms and computers when we are not using them. And we should try to use fans instead of air conditioners when that is feasible.
The battle against climate change has to be seen as a global effort. We all have a responsibility to try and tackle this problem.
We all need to make an effort to protect the earth for the sake of future generations.
Yannis Liu, Tseung Kwan O
 
Monitor water supply from mainland
I think the annual increases Hong Kong has to pay for Dongjiang water are unreasonable.
Under the new three-year deal with Guangdong, there will be an increase of about 6.6 per cent in each of the three years compared to the previous deal.
I am also concerned about the quality of the water, given the levels of pollution.
The authorities talk about improving water quality, but I think this is difficult to achieve because of corruption on the mainland.
Officials cooperate with owners of polluting factories (which discharge into rivers) rather than cracking down on them.
Officials need to be appointed who will tackle these problems. The local authorities must address the problem of corruption so that the water quality can be tightly monitored and improved, and this should be done as soon as possible.
Kylie Kwan, Tseung Kwan O
 
No justification for bus driver's rudeness
Some correspondents have commented on the deteriorating services provided by Hong Kong taxi drivers.
Unfortunately they are not the only ones in this increasingly challenged city.
I was travelling with a friend from Connaught Road to Pok Fu Lam on a minibus on Tuesday afternoon.
Never in my 20 years in Hong Kong have I encountered a worse behaved driver on public transport.
I used my Octopus card to pay my fare and the machine gave a high-pitched noise to indicate that my card was HK$1.70 short of the full fare of HK$13. I didn't do anything about it since I thought the missing amount would be deducted from my Octopus account after my next refill.
When we had reached our destination and wanted to get off the bus, the driver, a man in his late twenties, yelled at me rudely to pay my fare, which I did with another card. I felt embarrassed in front of the other passengers, none of whom came to my rescue.
Even if I had done something wrong unknowingly, there was no justification for the driver to show such an offensive attitude towards a passenger.
It's good to know that the majority of Hong Kong's bus and taxi drivers I come across are decent and sometimes even cheerful people.
It would be sad if these bad-mannered exceptions contributed to any deterioration of Hong Kong's good reputation.
R. Cullmann, Pok Fu Lam 
 
Humans are biggest threat to wildlife
New research has shown that global wildlife populations have declined by more than half in the past four decades.
There are a number of reasons, but the activities of humans are a major factor.
For example, there is greater demand for natural resources such as wood. An increasing number of trees are being felled, which is causing deforestation. This has destroyed the habitats of many animals, which lose shelter and their sources of food.
Animals that cannot adapt to a changing environment die off. We all need to recognise that wildlife has as much right to inhabit this planet as we do.
People have to try and change their lifestyles to preserve the habitats of animals and stop the decline in their populations.
We should try to reduce pollution levels and generate less refuse. Also, people could get involved in replanting initiatives to replace trees that have been lost.
If we do not act now to halt the decline in wildlife populations, the numbers will keep falling and more species will eventually become extinct.
Natalie Chan, Sha Tin


Letters to the Editor, November 15, 2014

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Cruise terminal under fire despite extra berthings

Critics say Kai Tak is a "white elephant". Photo: Sam Tsang

Opinion

I have considerable sympathy for the students' desire for a clearer future in Hong Kong, but enough is enough and I would ask them to consider the following.


Letters to the Editor, November 15, 2014

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}I have considerable sympathy for the students' desire for a clearer future in Hong Kong, but enough is enough and I would ask them to consider the following.

I have considerable sympathy for the students' desire for a clearer future in Hong Kong, but enough is enough and I would ask them to consider the following.