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Letters

Police chief doesn’t need to apologise
I strongly disagree with the call by Borromeo Li for Police Commissioner Stephen Lo Wai-chung to issue a public apology (“Police chief must issue an apology for his officers’ behaviour”, ­February 28).
The seven police officers were found guilty in a public court of assaulting activist Ken Tsang Kin-chiu and jailed. Let this be the end of the matter.
As head of the Hong Kong Police Force, the commissioner must now rebuild morale within the force and standing behind his officers, even the seven ­disgraced ones, is the right thing to do.
In any work environment, we expect our bosses to stand up for us in public when we have made mistakes, even if we have been disciplined. The police force as a whole has done nothing wrong and, as such, I don’t believe a public apology is ­necessary.
However, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying should take responsibility for politicising the force.
He has done this by hiding behind the police every time his unpopular actions and policy decisions have upset the general public, thus pitching the police against the Hong Kong people.
The police force is charged with protecting and safeguarding the people of Hong Kong. To do this, the commissioner must listen to the grievances of the ­police rank and file and work ­together with the entire force to regroup and rebuild morale.
I hope that under the leadership of Stephen Lo, the force will come out of this stronger and better.
Helen Cheung, Ho Man Tin
Respect the court and fix officer distrust
Police officer associations ­organised a large rally to protest over the seven officers being jailed for assault. I think what is important now is for both sides, their supporters and those who backed the court’s decision, to calm down.
We should all respect the decisions made by the court and sentences handed down by the judge. I think that, under the ­circumstances, they were ­appropriate. It is now up to the Hong Kong government to take action to improve the image of the Hong Kong Police Force.
Because of the offences ­committed by these officers, public distrust in the force has increased. This is a serious problem and something must be done to rectify it.
What is needed is for all stakeholders to get involved in rational discussions and allow differing opinions to be aired.
Rain Cheng Po-wing, Tsuen Wan
Let food trucks move to cater for demand
In his column (“Eat my shorts!！ Food trucks are just a vanity project”, February 8) Alex Lo was very critical of the new food truck scheme initiated by the government.
I support the pilot scheme, but think there is a lack of flexibility, with the trucks having to stay in designated, fixed locations. The advantage of a food truck should be its mobility. For example, in US cities, the food trucks can choose their locations. They can go to where the demand is at a particular time and this offers diners in these ­locations a lot of choices. This is an area in Hong Kong where there is room for improvement.
Some critics have said that the food is too expensive, but I think the trucks are often ­providing some interesting choices on their menus and the food is delicious. I believe local residents and tourists will be happy with the prices charged by the trucks. The quality and the price setting are appropriate to local people and tourists.
There is a wide variety of food, a mixture of Western and Chinese cuisine, including Hong Kong favourites such as dim sum, dumplings and fishballs. I hope this pilot scheme will be successful.
Luke Fan, Tseung Kwan O
Kindergarten changes will help learning
It is an important education milestone for the curriculum in local kindergartens to be ­radically changed. Now, instead of study drills, the curriculum guide will emphasise children’s all-round development by learning through play and free exploration.
Mechanical copying causes children to lose their interest in learning.
With the new curriculum, young children will be able to develop their creativity and ­interest in learning.
Alex Tse, Tseung Kwan O
Parents should push benefit of more exercise
I share Jason Tang’s concerns about young people not getting enough exercise (“Parents in Hong Kong can help students exercise more ”, February 25).
I am a secondary student and admit that, apart from physical education classes, I do little in the way of exercise at school.
I only attend the PE classes because they are obligatory. Most students and parents ­regard the academic side of the curriculum to be the priority.
This is also why many students don’t exercise much after school, because they have to do so much homework. And, after they have finished all their work, they just want to relax at their computer or play games on their smartphones.
However, this is not the right attitude, because lack of exercise can lead to health problems. We could see an improvement if more parents took the lead and encouraged their children to exercise with them, for example, by hiking. Schools should also ­encourage students to exercise more.
Angela Chow Hoi-chiu, Fo Tan
Abandoned children need family love
The story of a nine-year-old girl left by her parents with a neighbour in Dongguan, while they returned to Sichuan (四川), just weeks after her birth, reminded me that there are many of these “left-behind” or abandoned children on the mainland (“Nine-year-old vegetable ­vendor longs for parents”, ­February 27).
There are millions of them and they are deprived of the chance to enjoy a normal and carefree childhood.
The biggest concerns regarding these children relate to safety and mental health issues. ­Research shows that they face a higher risk of injury or accidental death than children living with their parents. They also grow up with low self-esteem and may struggle to develop inter­personal relationships.
I wish something could be done to help these children and I hope that this child in Dongguan is eventually reunited with her parents.
Chloe Choy, Sha Tin













Letters to the Editor, March 2, 2017

Police Commissioner Stephen Lo must now rebuild morale within the force. Photo: David Wong

Opinion