Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. It was with great disbelief that I learned from a foreign paper that the Star Ferry might be sailing into history. The idea that the Star Ferry could disappear is unthinkable to Hong Kong. I refer to Hong Kong here as both the spirit and the people of the city. The Star Ferry is more than a form of transport. The ferries make up Hong Kong’s iconic skyline – they are present in all photos that tourists take of the Victoria Harbour. It is the means of transport Hongkongers take to remind themselves of why they love and live in this city. The 142-year-old infrastructure is a silent, yet significant constituent of Hong Kong’s international image, collective memory and history. In an ever-changing city, it is one of the few remaining existential markers that ground Hong Kong’s delicate wisp of an identity. A journey on the Star Ferry is listed as a “must do” for foreign visitors on the Hong Kong Tourism Board website, which also dubs the ferry the “sailing icon”. The Star Ferry is to Hong Kong what the Great Wall in Beijing is to China, the Eiffel Tower in Paris is to France, and the Pyramids of Giza are to Egypt. Not only do they hold great cultural and historical significance to their cities and nations, these landmarks also bear a significance to the larger world that transcends the capital value of their material parts. The disappearance of the Star Ferry from Hong Kong, as the company faces mounting financial difficulties, would simply be sacrilegious. Considering China’s hopes for Hong Kong to become a cultural hub as part of its 14th five-year plan , the loss of the Star Ferry would be a reflection of the city’s lack of cultural awareness and competence. Furthermore, as the Hong Kong Tourism Board has affirmed, the ferries are “a source of inspiration for the city’s creatives”. If Hong Kong is to become an artistic hub of China, it should very well start by nurturing and preserving its cultural and artistic identity, and the very infrastructure that embodies this. Joanne Tsang, Tung Chung UK points the finger at China while ignoring its own past It was interesting to read “UK’s Boris Johnson faces calls to apologise for Pal-Dadhvav massacre that killed 1,200 Indians” ( April 21 ). The event in question took place a century ago. It seems the United Kingdom had its own version of the Tiananmen crackdown. History shouldn’t be (easily and conveniently) forgotten, especially by the UK which is a fierce critic of China and even Hong Kong for cracking down on rioting and violence, and especially by Prime Minister Boris Johnson who broke his own laws . Michel Demuynck, Discovery Bay Mask mandate for runners: safety or paranoia? How can the government equate the need for thousands lining up to visit Ocean Park or crowded into the MTR to wear a mask with the requirement that a lone runner on Hong Kong’s trails – or a cyclist or a kayaker – wear a mask, when he or she may not come within a metre of another person? It is ridiculous. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention does not advise people to wear a mask while training, yet Hong Kong currently insists upon this. How about relaxing that rule immediately and, if necessary, suggesting that any paranoid residents potentially coming within a metre of a runner or cyclist wear two masks if it makes them feel more secure. Has the government heard of “last in, first out”? If it was OK not to wear a mask while exercising in a country park in February before the fifth wave clampdown and when dining restrictions were extreme, then surely it must be OK to not wear a mask when exercising now that dining restrictions have been significantly relaxed. I hope the government will reverse the mask mandate for activities in country parks (and elsewhere) immediately. J. Herbert, Sai Kung
