Letters | Why not move loss-making Hong Kong Disneyland to mainland China’s Sanya?

Readers discuss the benefits of relocating the struggling theme park in Hong Kong, addressing the underlying causes of student stress, guarded optimism over the Cop28 agreement, and taking chronic fatigue syndrome seriously

Hong Kong economy

Letters

Published: 11:30am, 19 Dec 2023

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I am glad to see Ocean Park finally turning a profit (“Hong Kong’s Ocean Park posts HK$118.5 million surplus after years of running deficits”, December 13). By contrast, Hong Kong Disneyland continues to lose money.

The Hong Kong government should obtain support from Beijing to move its Disneyland, the smallest Disney resort campus in the world, to Hainan Island – or more precisely, to Sanya, one of China’s major entertainment hubs. It should be possible to obtain more land there to create a proper Disneyland, similar to the ones in Shanghai and Tokyo, which would help attract more tourists from Southeast Asian countries to China.

By relocating Disneyland to Sanya, the current site and the empty lot next to it that was previously reserved for the theme park’s expansion can then be used to build affordable housing. The infrastructure is already there. The lack of affordable housing has been an item on every chief executive’s policy address since Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty, but progress has been slow.

This is a win-win proposition which would benefit all parties – mainland China, Hong Kong and Disneyland. I hope our government will seriously consider pursuing it.

Paul M.F. Cheng, Mid-Levels

Parental understanding the missing link

The increase in the number of suspected suicide cases this year among Hong Kong students is worrying, and many people have offered reasons for the rise and suggested ways to support students.

Some say the pandemic disruption is to blame, while others point to the emigration wave in the wake of the social unrest several years ago. As a local student who has been through these difficult times, I think they are not the most important factors. Instead, the main reason is teenagers lack understanding from their family.

Hong Kong is one of the Asian societies which are known for their tiger parents. They push their children to study and impose many restrictions on them but seem not to understand how they feel. Teenagers’ loneliness comes not from social issues but from their parents’ discouragement and misunderstanding.

Students are already stressed out. As they have been taught to believe that only good grades will bring them a better future, when they do badly in one or two tests, they feel sorry and blame themselves for not working harder, even though they already worked very hard. If they are also denied time to do the things they like, it’s no wonder their mental health is becoming worse.

We should address the underlying causes. The government should promote proper family education instead of just implementing policies in school and asking teachers to help students if they find any having difficulties or behaving in unusual ways.

Of course, giving comfort in school can help save some students from falling into danger when the situation worsens. However, doing so is not focusing on the main cause of the problem.

On the contrary, with appropriate family education, parents can learn what to do to help their children when they encounter ups and downs and stand with them to face challenges. Parents and their children see things differently, and such efforts to promote understanding are necessary.

Gloria Wong, Kwai Chung

Too early for the high fives over Cop28 agreement

I take hope from a first-in-history consensus agreement at the UN climate change summit (Cop28) in Dubai to transition away from fossil fuels to try to reduce global carbon emissions by 43 per cent from 2019 levels by 2030. However, Sultan Al Jaber’s pronouncement prompting a standing ovation seems premature in the extreme.

Nothing has happened yet, and there is a devil in the details. There is no guarantee of sustained and concerted compliance by nations, regulatory bodies and the NGO signatories in Dubai.

The previous 27 editions of the climate gabfests disappointed even lacklustre targets. With Earth and life as we know it perilously perched at the point of no return, congratulatory high fives should be reserved for when disaster is averted.

Until there is a global reversal to a better trajectory, humankind and all living beings will struggle to remain in the race of, and for, our lives. Instead of patting ourselves on the back, each one of us needs to remain vigilant to individual and local acts of consuming and wasting less in daily living. Millions of people adopting this personal philosophy could buy us a little more time to see Cop28’s glimmer of hope bears fruit.

Dr Joseph Ting, Brisbane, Australia

Chronic fatigue syndrome must be taken seriously

I refer to the article, “Tired, exhausted? You could have chronic fatigue syndrome – what to know” (December 14). The discovery that an estimated 3.3 million American adults are affected by chronic fatigue syndrome is an important step in recognising the scale of this condition.

I urge the medical profession, policymakers and the general public to take this seriously, especially its possible link to long Covid. More research is needed to better understand the underlying causes, provide effective therapies and create support networks for people affected by these disorders.

Zoe Lam, Kwai Chung