Imagine if the additional land were not used for Disney but for public housing; it would be a blessing for all those street sleepers in our city. A good government should make quality of life for citizens a priority, not just be guided by economic data.

Even though approval for the expanded Disney has been granted, I hope that the government would think twice before making a decision on certain white elephant projects.

Anson Chan, Tseung Kwan O

Extreme steps needed to stop multiple buys

But not only is his suggested new rule impossible to enforce in this ill-disciplined society, but also this unresourceful and non-committal administration can never be expected to take sufficiently extreme measures to put such a rule into practice.

But what’s the cause of this seemingly unstoppable trend? The main reason why properties are snapped up, fanning the fire of price rises and causing a ­vicious circle, is really the huge amounts of cash – some dirty – brought out of the mainland to invest, or launder, in whatever trade looks promising.

At the same time, this free economy of ours will not cap the price of new properties coming into the market or the rental for commercial properties.

The reason why so many people continue to fall victim to telephone fraud, willing to transfer vast sums of money on the demand of claimed mainland officials, is that they have an Achilles’ heel – the fear of being caught.

The necessary extreme ­measure has to be the capping of prices or rentals, or the forbidding of purchases by non­permanent residents, or both.

Peter Lok, Heng Fa Chuen

Widodo quote on GDP claim not in context

I need to clarify, that when the president explained about Indonesia’s GDP growth rate, at the occasion referred to by van der Kamp and your earlier report, on-screen was a presentation slide that clearly stated “third-highest GDP growth among G20 countries”.

The president made the comment during his meeting with around 5,000 Indonesians at AsiaWorld Expo, in Hong Kong, on April 30.

It is clear that van der Kamp was not aware of the context of President Widodo’s remarks.

Bey Machmudin, chief of the Presidential Press Office, ­Republic of Indonesia

Respect the heritage of bun festival

I refer to your article on the bun festival (“Skip the meat during popular bun festival”, May 4). The Cheung Chau festival is known for its lively parade, ­exciting bun-tower climb and showcasing of cultural heritage.

If the ping on bun is an integral part of its heritage, eating vegetarian food during this festival is another. Why not show more respect to this custom?

Amy Wong Lai-ying, To Kwa Wan

BCA test may be different ­in name only

I’m writing in response to your article on the rebranded assessment test for schools (“Hong Kong schools ready for boycotts as pupils sit revamped tests”, May 4).

As we know, the government of Hong Kong “listened” to our students’ complaints and then replaced the controversial Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) test with the Basic Competency Assessment (BCA), claiming that the new system will save students from over-drilling.

However, I cannot really see any difference between the two tests. It seems that the name has been changed, but the system is almost the same.

A teacher interviewed by Pearl TV reporters actually said the exercise is still the same, just that the workbook no longer has the title “TSA” on it.

The reason why there were calls for the TSA to be scrapped was that young students were put through intensive drilling, which caused them stress and left them with no time for rest.

The Pearl TV report also mentioned a father who complained that his children were still being trained for the BCA, and could not go to bed until midnight.

So what has changed since the time of the TSA?

These cases show that the new BCA system has already failed. Over-drilling continues.

Michelle Mai, Sau Mau Ping