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Letters

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
I refer to the article, “Hong Kong urged to protect Sai Kung islands from overtourism, ecological damage” (October 3). Ecotourism urgently needs comprehensive management to be sustainable.
Thailand’s Similan Islands are a case in point. They are open to visitors only for a few months every year, so that marine life has adequate time to recover. Hong Kong could consider the same by monitoring coral reefs, identifying the period when they are weakest, and imposing limits on swimming and snorkelling in certain areas around the Sai Kung islands accordingly.
When it comes to nature conservation, another concern is the recurring cost of monitoring coral reefs. This could give rise to controversy over whether public money would be better spent on social welfare. Thailand appropriately charges tourists a fee to enter the Similan Islands. Similarly, the Maldives imposes a green tax on tourists staying in resort hotels. This user-pays principle is quite fair and necessary to ensure the government has ample funding for conservation work.
Furthermore, in the Maldives, islands are leased to developers for resort development. While at first glance this policy seems to run counter to nature conservation, it is effective in limiting non-hotel guest access to the islands. Given that marine biodiversity is the biggest selling point of their hotels, these developers have an extremely strong incentive to keep the surrounding coral reefs in good shape. Many hotels are known to engage in coral reef restoration.
In Hong Kong, locals and tourists are finding their way to remote places like the Ninepin Islands, Crooked Island and Pak Lap Tsai. The challenge of overtourism might soon spread from Sharp Island to other islands in Sai Kung. Hong Kong has been gifted with natural treasures and there is real money to be made in ecotourism. The last thing we want is for this opportunity to threaten our environment. A solution that can balance ecological protection, prudent use of public money and economic development is urgently needed.
A. Chan, Guangzhou
Phase out bamboo scaffolding and fire risk
I have written to various government departments and this newspaper over the years about the failure to phase out the potentially dangerous use of bamboo scaffolding for large construction projects.
Time and time again we read reports of bamboo walls around multi-storey buildings either catching fire or collapsing, causing not only fatalities and injuries but obstructions on the streets below.
The mainland has banned the use of bamboo for large building projects for good reason, whereas all Hong Kong has done is tinker with the regulations, merely encouraging property developers to switch to metal scaffolding.
Enough is enough. This latest serious fire should be used to justify a clampdown on bamboo. All large scaffolds should now be made by qualified steel scaffolding contractors. Bamboo scaffolds should only be seen at cultural events where traditional bamboo stages are erected for Chinese opera performances.
P.A. Crush, Discovery Bay
How to build empathy for people with disabilities
I refer to “Axe ‘invisible barriers’ affecting people with disabilities: Hong Kong watchdog” (October 9).
The cases of a bus driver who wouldn’t help a wheelchair user and of a retail employee who scolded an autistic person are deeply troubling. These are not just isolated incidents of bad service but signs of a wider problem in society: namely, a lack of empathy.
While the Equal Opportunities Commission’s suggestions for staff training are important, we also need to help everyone in the community be more understanding. One way is to run awareness workshops where people can experience challenges for themselves by having to use a wheelchair for a short trip, for example. When they know what it feels like first-hand, they are more likely to want to help.
We also need to hear more from people with disabilities via the news or television shows, to help us see them as neighbours, not strangers. This could make it easier to be patient and supportive.
Removing invisible barriers is about changing hearts and minds. It’s about building a community where we all make an effort to include each other. Let’s work together to ensure everyone is treated with dignity.
Kiran Shehzadi, Kwai Chung


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Hong Kong urged to overhaul ecotourism planning and expand bookings for hotspots

Hong Kong environmental issues

3 ways Hong Kong can keep the golden goose of ecotourism healthy

Tourists go snorkelling at Sharp Island on October 4, during the National Day holiday. Photo: Dickson Lee

Hong Kong’s natural beauty needs robust protection amid tourism boom

Mainland tourists visit Sharp Island and snorkel to see the surrounding corals during the “golden week” holidays on October 4. Photo: Dickson Lee

Better public awareness of coral will help preserve our natural bounty

Tourists snorkel around Sharp Island to see the corals during the “golden week” holiday, on October 4. Photo: Dickson Lee

Greenpeace found that tourists had trampled on corals and dug up coastal organisms on Sharp Island, Sai Kung, during the National Day ‘golden week’ holiday. Photo: Handout

New cross-border driving scheme a win-win for Hong Kong and Guangdong

The Zhuhai section of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge is pictured on June 12, 2020. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

Opinion

Readers discuss how to manage ecotourism, the safety of bamboo scaffolding, and empathy for people with disabilities


Readers discuss how to manage ecotourism, the safety of bamboo scaffolding, and empathy for people with disabilities.


.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Readers discuss how to manage ecotourism, the safety of bamboo scaffolding, and empathy for people with disabilities

Readers discuss how to manage ecotourism, the safety of bamboo scaffolding, and empathy for people with disabilities