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Letters

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The chief executive pressed many of the right buttons on mental health in his 2025 policy address.
In the relevant section of his speech, he started by drawing a useful distinction between treatment and prevention. Conflation of the two happens frequently in public discourse, potentially causing those with clinical symptoms to hesitate to seek professional help.
Of the nine measures he delineated, the last one – finalising the stepped care model and setting out the roles and work of mental health professionals and stakeholders – is among those of the most fundamental importance, because an accurate demarcation of responsibilities precedes everything else. One caveat, however, is that the stepped layers in the model need to be sufficiently porous so that patients will not have to jump through hoops to get the right treatment.
The majority of the measures concern students. This is not surprising, since adults are supposedly more capable of self-care. This comfortable assumption, however, has been challenged by the significant increase last year in suicides of men aged 30-49.
To a certain extent, this issue has been addressed by proposals to add six more District Health Centres providing mental-health services to the current three, and to provide more convenient service options. But given that a large majority of people suffering from mental health problems here do not seek help, those measures need to be complemented by more effective strategies to raise society’s level of sophistication in perceiving mental illness, which advances in scientific knowledge of the brain demand.
It is occasionally feared, with some justification, that encouraging help-seeking may cause many to worry that they have a mental illness when all they have are just mood swings occasioned by normal events in life. Such mistakes, however, are precisely due to a lack of understanding of mental illness, particularly the criteria for diagnosing illnesses like depression. Widespread knowledge of a higher quality can go a long way towards solving simultaneously the problems of sick people not seeking help and healthy people worrying about being sick.
Last but not least, the number of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists in Hong Kong falls significantly below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average. It is hoped that the lack of mention of plans regarding this in the policy address does not reflect a lack of resolve in bringing us up to par.
Bowen C. Chow, Heng Fa Chuen
Rethink kindergarten closures during No 3 typhoon signals
The Hong Kong Observatory issued the No 3 typhoon signal at 9.20am on September 19. However, several hours earlier (at 5am), the Education Bureau had already announced the suspension of all kindergarten classes.
The raising of the No 3 signal meant kindergartens were closed, but parents still had to go to work and had to figure out who would take care of their young children at home while they were at work. Families with two or more children struggle more: if an older child’s school remains open, the related pick-up and drop-off arrangements become yet another problem.
Some parents only found out about the school closure after taking their children to school. Ironically, they didn’t feel even a breath of wind en route.
Why doesn’t the Education Bureau seriously consider how to solve this problem? While kindergarten pupils don’t need to attend school, teachers often still have to go to work. So why not allow parents of kindergarteners to independently decide whether to send their children to school? Shouldn’t we trust parents to exercise basic judgment about their children’s safety and weather conditions?
I hope that among the Education Bureau staff there are also working-class people like us who can understand the difficulties of dual-income families.
Emma Cao, Ap Lei Chau
Cha chaan tengs could be valuable link between generations
I recently came across a report on the women who are preserving the fusion cuisine that originated in the ancient Ryukyu Kingdom in Japan.
It made me reflect on how Hong Kong’s cha chaan teng culture has been deteriorating. While some blame the influx of foreign food cultures, and it is true that there are many Western cuisines to choose from in Hong Kong, cha chaan teng cuisine is already a dynamic fusion of Cantonese tradition and Western influences.
Take the pineapple bun as an example. With the integration of the British baking method and the Chinese “tangzhong” technique, it is believed to be the perfect example of “East-meets-West” cultural blend.
It is worth noting, however, that cha chaan tengs are often run by people who lack the means to promote their restaurants, resulting in a struggle to grow their customer base. High rents and operational costs have made running small businesses challenging.
In the hope of preserving this valuable cultural heritage, the authorities should either channel more funds towards them or increase the next generations’ exposure to these restaurants, whether through exhibitions, education or celebrity endorsements.
Cha chaan tengs can link Hong Kong’s different generations together and are a big part of the city’s unique food culture. Efforts must be made to keep them alive.
Yannie Chen, Tseung Kwan O


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Hong Kong leader’s policy address pushed right buttons on mental health

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Opinion

Readers discuss mental health-related measures in the policy blueprint, the closure of kindergartens during inclement weather, and preserving Hong Kong’s food culture


Readers discuss mental health-related measures in the policy blueprint, the closure of kindergartens during inclement weather, and preserving Hong Kong’s food culture.


.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Readers discuss mental health-related measures in the policy blueprint, the closure of kindergartens during inclement weather, and preserving Hong Kong’s food culture

Readers discuss mental health-related measures in the policy blueprint, the closure of kindergartens during inclement weather, and preserving Hong Kong’s food culture