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Letters

Letters

Letters | Eyesight tests for Hong Kong drivers seriously need to be updated

Taxis and other vehicles drive along a waterlogged Gloucester Road in Wan Chai district on August 5. Hong Kong currently requires drivers “to read at a distance of 23m in good daylight a vehicle number plate”. Photo: AFP

Readers discuss comprehensive vision exams for Hong Kong drivers, Donald Trump’s diversionary tactics, and a 13-year-old’s death in Malaysia.

Letters | Hong Kong chief executive can’t treat the environment like a side dish

Ka Wai Man Road in Kennedy Town floods on August 5, when the Hong Kong Observatory issued the second-longest black rainstorm warning on record. Photo: Eugene Lee

Readers discuss why the environment must be front and centre of the government’s work, premium taxi fleets, and the root of the city’s retail problem.

Letters | Hong Kong must see how systemic exclusion hurts LGBTQ mental health

Disparities in LGBTQ+ mental health stem partially from minority stress. Photo: Antony Dickson

Readers discuss structural factors impacting the LGBTQ community, marriage equality, and road safety.

Letters | How we can support silently stressed-out men around us

A man takes a break near Central Ferry Piers in 2021. Photo: Edmond So

Readers discuss men’s mental health, the Wuhan University library sexual harassment case, smart toilets, and turbines for Chinese hydropower.

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Letters | US sanctions have succeeded – in making Putin stronger

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping gather for a Brics family photo in Kazan, Russia on October 23. Photo: AP

Readers discuss how the sanctions on Russia have backfired, AI governance, and the day humans won’t be needed for ‘most things’.

Letters | Give Southeast Asian youth a formal role in climate decision-making

Environmental activists pick up trash around Situ Gede, a lake in Bogor, West Java in 2023. Photo: AP

Readers discuss the need for an Asean youth climate envoy, the sustainability of claw machines, and Japanese war crimes.

Letters | Forget long-term leases. Here’s how Hong Kong can reinvent retail

Pedestrians walk under an enormous rental advertisement for a duplex store in Causeway Bay on July 7. Photo: Sam Tsang

Readers discuss the future of retail, the city’s red taxis, and how to respond to Trump’s disruption.

Letters | Hong Kong must stand firm on same-sex rights in the face of ignorance

The deliberation on the Registration of Same-sex Partnership Bill is a deliberation on the future of Hong Kong and the values it holds as a global city. Photo: Shutterstock

Readers discuss the deliberation on the same-sex partnership bill, the example Hong Kong can set on human rights, and changing attitudes to mainland Chinese.

Letters | Ethnic minorities in Hong Kong: how community centres can foster integration

People visit Hong Kong’s first-ever outdoor halal food festival, co-organised by the M.E.L.T. Ethnic Minority Resources Centre and the Hong Kong Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community, in Tsim Sha Tsui on April 19. Photo: Nora Tam

Readers discuss efforts to create a more inclusive city, a recent suspected murder-suicide case, and a heartwarming experience on a minibus.

Letters | Can Hong Kong afford to jump on the mainland Chinese tech bandwagon?

President Xi Jinping delivers an important speech, making points relevant to Hong Kong, at the Central Urban Work Conference in Beijing on July 14. Photo: Xinhua

Readers discuss the implications of Beijing’s warning to local governments, and the tone of end-of-life care discussions.

Letters | The pitfalls of squat toilets, major and minor

Squat toilets are becoming rarer in Asian cities. Photo: Shutterstock

Readers discuss the (medical) pros and cons of squat toilets, and what books are for nowadays.

Letters | Nanking massacre film speaks to the resilience of ordinary Chinese

On Chinese social media, many have said that although Dead to Rights is difficult to watch, it is a must-see. Photo: China Film Group Corporation

Readers discuss a reckoning with the second world war, and a Buddhist monk’s downfall.

Letters | Food recovery in Hong Kong should be seen as infrastructure, not charity

A dustbin is lined in a restaurant in San Po Kong in 2024. Many food businesses often find donation more costly and complicated than disposal and consequently, perfectly edible food goes to landfills rather than to people in need. Photo: May Tse

Readers discuss a more integrated approach to food waste reduction, sustainability education, and how to bridge the gap between education and employment in Asia.

Letters | How Hong Kong can tap into mainland China’s space solar power project

The Tianzhou-9 cargo craft and a Long March-7 carrier rocket are vertically transferred to the launch site in Wenchang, Hainan on July 12. Experts believe that space-based solar power is now technically feasible, given advancements in reusable heavy-lift rockets. Photo: EPA/Xinhua

Readers discuss how the city can contribute to and benefit from the OMEGA project, climate-driven market failure, and sea-land adventure packages.

Letters | Preserve what sets Hong Kong apart – starting with how you shop

Crowds gather outside a bakery in Sham Shui Po to buy mooncakes and other baked goods on September 11. Photo: Connor Mycroft

Readers discuss whether the city’s way of life is in peril, housing standards, and why classic Cantopop is irreplaceable.

Letters | Teochew diaspora has a role to play amid Thailand-Cambodia conflict

A Chinese opera performance in Bangkok ahead of Lunar New Year in February 2021. Most of the performers, hired by local shrines to perform in Chinatown during festivals, are descended from Teochew. Photo: EPA-EFE

Readers discuss the shared heritage of Teochew communities in Southeast Asia, Arabic proficiency in Hong Kong, and cognitive exams for older drivers.

Letters | What’s really at stake between Thailand and Cambodia

Spurred by conflict along the border, Cambodian migrant workers cross from Thailand into Cambodia at the Ban Laem checkpoint in Chanthaburi, Thailand on July 28. Photo: dpa

Readers discuss the real issue behind the Thai-Cambodian border escalation, why global citizens must choose peace, and inclusivity in Hong Kong.

Letters | Empower Hong Kong’s patients with advance care planning

Public awareness of advance medical directives remains low. Photo: Shutterstock

Readers discuss how to help patients make advance decisions, energy-efficient AI, and a better use for Cyberport.

Letters | Why AI writing can’t ever compare with a Stephen King novel

Author Stephen King holds up a copy of his retelling of the Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel on April 23. Photo: HarperCollins via AP

Readers discuss the fundamental difference between AI and human writing, water treaties, and the changing winds of language learning.

Letters | Hong Kong must act to protect youth from digital overload

Students use mobile phones on the MTR on June 27. Mainland China has limited online gaming for minors. Australia is banning phones in schools and restricting social media for under-16s. Hong Kong should also act. Photo: Jelly Tse

Readers discuss a policy response to digital overstimulation, suicide prevention, hotline help, and Buddhist wisdom.

Letters | Schools need more support to integrate talent visa dependants into Hong Kong

Students head off after school in Fortress Hill in 2020. Photo: Dickson Lee

Readers discuss how to help new arrivals settle down in school, urban regeneration, and pet-friendly transport.

Letters | Why is Hong Kong law soft on predatory lending and debtor harassment?

A banner reading “Police Drone in Operation” is displayed in Yau Ma Tei on June 6. The normalisation of exploitative moneylending erodes trust in Hong Kong’s financial and legal systems. Photo: Jelly Tse

Readers discuss an area where Hong Kong lags behind jurisdictions like Singapore, Malaysia’s new chief justice, and the dam project in Tibet.

Letters | You are adding to carbon emissions with each question you ask AI

AI tools are now integral to day-to-day tasks like research and content creation. To support this demand, tech giants like Apple and Google have invested heavily in data centres, with Meta and Microsoft even exploring nuclear power options to meet AI’s massive energy needs. Photo: TNS

Readers discuss the environmental impact of energy-guzzling data centres, English in Hong Kong, and the threat facing human occupations.

Letters | The wisdom of Australia’s fresh approach to China

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference in Chengdu, Sichuan province on July 17, during a six-day official visit to China. Photo: EPA

Readers discuss why Canberra must keep its foreign policy options open, private DSE candidates in Hong Kong, and driverless vehicles for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.

Letters | Hong Kong has what it takes to be an Islamic finance hub

Tourists take pictures with the Petronas Twin Towers in the background in Kuala Lumpur on July 15. Hong Kong could partner with leading Islamic finance centres such as Malaysia to accelerate product innovation. Photo: AFP

Readers discuss how Hong Kong can capitalise on the potential of Islamic finance assets, the Flywin principle, and English standards.

Letters | Younger Hongkongers are taking it slow and steady? Good

In a city obsessed with acceleration, maybe motion has been mistaken for progress. But think of the Peak Tram. It doesn’t race. It climbs steadily, at its own pace, and always gets there. Photo: Sam Tsang

Readers discuss how young people are reshaping ambition, brain health awareness, and the Book Fair.

Letters | Asean’s renewable push needs inclusive economic models

Workers clean solar panels at Jatijajar bus station in Depok, Indonesia on April 16. Photo: EPA-EFE

Readers discuss energy transition strategies, the low-altitude economy, and China buying ‘fourth-best’ AI chips.

Letters | Same-sex bill is an acid test of Hong Kong’s human rights protection

A view of the Court of Final Appeal in Central on June 11. Photo: Jelly Tse

Readers discuss the city’s constitutional order, the argument against recognising same-sex relationships, and two-dish rice queues in Hong Kong’s financial district.

Letters | Home sweet home? More like investment sweet investment in Hong Kong

A view of residential buildings on Hong Kong Island in 2023. Hong Kong remains the world’s most expensive city to buy a home and ranks as the seventh priciest rental market. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Readers discuss the city’s world-topping property prices, care for low vision, and what Napoleon’s wallpaper had to do with his death.

Letters | Hong Kong students must remember grades aren’t everything

Primary Six pupils receive their school allocation results on the campus of Yaumati Catholic Primary School (Hoi Wang Road) on July 8. Photo: Nora Tam

Readers discuss the true priorities of school education, climate fixes for the city’s vulnerable, and how to get seriously tough on illegal parking.

Related Topics
Climate changeHong Kong propertyAsia travelLegacy of war in AsiaHong Kong housingChina-Australia relationsScienceEducation in Hong KongLGBTQArtificial intelligence