Letters | Hong Kong street cleaners’ perseverance and diligence amid the protests is humbling
- Cleaners have been more important to Hong Kong during the protests than either their pay or the respect shown to them would suggest
One never ceases to be amazed by how, after the long nights of pandemonium, the next morning, all of Hong Kong is spick and span with the transport system running smoothly – as if the night before never happened. One observes this, consistently, day after day, week on week.
The street cleaners’ commitment to their work and integrity, irrespective of the weather or sociopolitical environment, is as incredibly humbling as it is inspiring.
As the article highlights, this hardworking segment of Hongkongers are at physical risk and exposed to harsh working conditions. Their wages do not reflect much dignity of labour or respect, especially considering the humongous impact that they have on the daily lives of fellow citizens.
Despite that, they do what they do to keep Hong Kong running without any fuss or drama. True heroes!
Manoj Dhar, Ap Lei Chau
Don’t portray Hong Kong as unsafe for tourists
With some reasonable precautions such as avoiding areas with active protests and being mindful of one’s clothing and behaviour, Hong Kong is still a great tourist destination despite the unrest.
Is it safe to be in Hong Kong? Against all odds the answer is still a strange ‘yes’
I find the cartoon somewhat irresponsible and hope this newspaper’s editorial cartoons do not further depict the protests in such a misleading way.
Holly Eades, Sydney, Australia
Sing-offs preferable to chaos in streets, airports
C. Tan, Lantau Island
Tung Chung is far from a ghost town
I am a resident of Tung Chung and find this description untrue and laughable. There is a large population in Tung Chung living in public as well as private housing. It is also a major hub for air travellers and those who visit Lantau Island. How can it turn into a ghost town just because some protest groups descended upon the airport and later spilled out onto this residential area? Their so-called stress tests – a shameless euphemism for malicious attacks on the transport system – caused many inconveniences and delays for travellers at the airport, but Tung Chung emerged relatively unscathed.
Tung Chung remains a normal residential area with a vibrant marketplace. For two consecutive weekends, my family has had to queue to eat out at some of the restaurants at the newly completed extension of the older Citygate Mall.
As a local resident, I disagree with Lau Wing-yin of the Tung Chung Concern Group who sees the tourist slump as a positive development. The population of Tung Chung is growing and is set to grow in the future; we need more, and not fewer, facilities to cater to both local residents and tourists alike.
Cynthia So, Tung Chung
