bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Letters

Enjoy Rugby Sevens, but drink sensibly
Hong Kong's annual rugby extravaganza, the Hong Kong Sevens and Rugby Week, has become a sporting tradition for many in Hong Kong and those throughout the region who flock to attend.
The Hong Kong Forum for Responsible Drinking wants to remind all those attending the games and related events to celebrate responsibly.
Our city takes the issue of responsible drinking very seriously. Although Hong Kong has one of the lowest levels of consumption of alcohol in the world, we nevertheless remain vigilant to prevent accidents from occurring.
Our organisation is firmly committed to playing a role in strengthening Hong Kong's environment of responsible drinking.
Founded in 2010 by leading importers and sellers of beer, spirits and wine, the coalition works to support responsible alcohol consumption and awareness, through partnership with government and social organisations.
Numerous organisations, including the Hong Kong government, have also initiated programmes to encourage responsible alcohol consumption in the city.
The SAR has enacted and vigorously enforces severe penalties for activities such as drink-driving, which has helped to reduce drink-driving fatalities to unprecedented levels.
The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union has also partnered with the KELY Support Group to run an outreach campaign to educate and help teenagers on reducing alcohol-related harm, before and during the activities.
Yet, festive times, such as the Rugby Sevens, the World Cup, the Lunar New Year and other celebrations, often lead to lapses in judgment with regard to excessive drinking, drink- driving and underage drinking.
Each of us should commit to acting responsibly, even in times of celebration.
In particular, we should pay attention to the possibility of excessive or binge drinking, as young drinkers may face peer pressure to participate.
We wish everyone a wonderful time at the Sevens. In order to ensure we all are able to enjoy the games to the fullest, we hope people will exercise moderation.
For more information on responsible drinking, visit our website at http://www.fred.org.hk/
Shaine DeVenny, chairperson, Hong Kong Forum forResponsible Drinking
Other airports gained from expansion
I think the third runway project has advantages and disadvantages considering the effect it will have on the environment and the benefits it may bring to residents.
I am concerned about the environmental impact, especially on the Chinese white dolphins. Their habitat at the runway construction site will be under threat, especially with all the increased activity involved in such a large project. For example, deep drilling will release contamination from heavy metals on the seabed.
However, on the plus side, the additional runway will boost Hong Kong's economy as the airport will be able to accommodate more take-offs and landings, and so more tourists.
It is needed as it is estimated that air traffic movements will reach 602,000 by 2030.
Other airports in the region have benefited from similar expansion, such as Incheon International Airport, in South Korea.
It completed its third runway in 2008 and annually has more than 40 million passengers. It continues to expand and increase its capacity for flights, passengers and cargo.
As with all large infrastructure projects, it is important to look at the advantages of the third runway and for the government to involve all stakeholders in discussions about how to go ahead.
Chan Sik-mei, Kowloon Tong 
Preferring to stay in one classroom
I refer to the letter by Samuel Joseph Craig ("Home-room policy is good for students", March 19).
Your correspondent claims that the advantages of the home-room policy outweigh the disadvantages, but I do not agree.
He makes his claims based on his experiences in Australia, but there are many differences between schools there and those in Hong Kong. What works in Australia is not necessarily suitable for local schools.
A lot of schools in Australia are low-rise, which makes regular movement between different classes (part of the home-room policy) fairly straightforward.
Our schools are housed in multistorey buildings with only a few staircases. This means that an institution will experience a lot of congestion on these stairwells if full consideration has not been given to the implementation of the home-room system.
I have studied here and in the UK. Your correspondent refers to the fresh learning environment that derives from switching classes.
In Hong Kong, I have studied in primary and secondary schools which have adopted the opposite of the home-room policy, where different teachers come to one classroom for lessons and the pupils stay in the same room.
Perhaps the learning environment was not fresh, but that was not a hindrance to actually learning.
Only students who are not enthusiastic about learning complain about the learning environment. If you are keen to acquire knowledge and to study, I am certain you can do that under whatever classroom system is adopted by your school.
It is important to look at this issue from various perspectives.
The ultimate aim, in coming up with policies for schools, including organisation of classrooms and lessons for teachers and students, is to foster a good atmosphere for learning.
Ming Lee, Tai Po
Link economic growth to green policies
Our pollution problems have got worse with economic growth and the rapid increase in population.
In recent years, pollution levels have become particularly severe and this affects citizens' quality of life.
There needs to be a greater awareness on the part of all individuals about how serious the problem now is and what we can all try to do to protect natural resources.
We should all be following the three basic principles enshrined in the three Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle.
We need to see humans as being an inseparable part of nature.
We must recognise that traditional ways of measuring economic growth, which ignore the costs to the environment, must be replaced by economic measures that take account of the environmental costs.
We have to now accept that a good quality of life is inextricably linked to protecting ecosystems.
Tsang Chun-man, Yau Yat Chuen
We can all help clean up city's bad air
People in Hong Kong drive fancy sports cars and enjoy dazzling light shows, but keep blaming our bad air quality on emissions from power plants on the mainland.
Instead, we should be recognising that we are generating a lot of the pollution in Hong Kong and we should be aiming to change lifestyles which are damaging the environment.
If citizens really want a better environment in the city, we need to modify our daily wasteful and sometimes extravagant habits.
We must do what we can to consume less energy and try to generate less waste wherever possible.
Citizens with their own cars must make the conscious decision to use public transport such as buses instead, when this is feasible.
We can save water resources with simple things like not keeping the tap running when we brush our teeth. And we should recycle as much as possible.
They are small measures but if we all adopted them, we could make a real difference.
I am concerned about the levels of pollution that are created by power plants.
Therefore, it is important for the government to invest in the development of renewable energy.
If we can harness the power of mother nature, we can have energy without polluting the environment.
Where it is possible, I would like to see wind turbines being set up and operating in Hong Kong.
We will continue to see new advances in technology.
I hope that, eventually, we will be able to generate all the energy that we need without having power plants that burn coal and send polluting fumes into the atmosphere.
Steven Mao, Tai Po 
No excuse for unhealthy lunchboxes
A study has shown that the meals in lunchboxes for many junior primary school students contain too much salt and not enough fibre.
Even students this young are under stress because of Hong Kong's competitive education system and they do not have much time for exercise. Consequently, many of these children are overweight.
This is not helped by the lack of nutrition in the lunches.
Suppliers of lunchboxes care more about profits than ensuring pupils have healthy diets.
The meals contain a lot of additives. They want to produce a meal that tastes good, but this is of little use if it is deficient in nutrients.
There must be an overall improvement in the quality of the contents of these lunchboxes to ensure primary schoolchildren eat healthy meals.
Fion Cheung, Yau Yat Chuen


Letters to the Editor, March 26, 2015

Enjoy Sevens without drinking too much. Photo: Edmond So

Opinion