Minibus videos need censoring

WHETHER it is for drumming up business or just entertainment, the idea of television, video and/or karaoke for minibus passengers may seem a good one.

However, after sitting through 30 minutes of unadulterated video violence during a recent journey, I am not convinced this will be a welcome attraction.

During a trip from Pokfulam to Wan Chai, I was transfixed with disbelief and horror as several previews of Chinese videos were screened. While I did not understand the language, I was left in no doubt as to the storyline. One graphic scene after another followed, with shots of a woman being beaten, tied in a noose and thrown off a building - with a particularly gratuitous close-up as the rope became taut and her neck broke, to mention just one. The really sad thing was that this appeared to be very much the norm of the previews on show that afternoon.

How can this go unnoticed by the government censors, bearing in mind the fanatical zeal with which some TV prime-time movies are edited? I believe everyone has the right to watch whatever they wish in their homes or at cinemas, but is it really necessary to expose children and those of us who are not interested in this so-called form of 'entertainment' to such viewing? Why should parents bother to censor programmes they deem inappropriate for their children when, while travelling to and from school, they can watch Category III movie clips on the minibus? Every day there is news of yet another horrific murder or rape in the papers. I used to wonder how these sick minds ever imagined such scenes - now I wonder why we don't hear of many more due to the influence of these sick shows.

Forget about the violent child/adult comics that a high proportion of Hong Kong seems addicted to. It is about time someone with the power to do something took a look at the latest small screen wonder, now showing on minibuses near you! KAREN DICK Pokfulam