Letters | Hong Kong should drop artificial islands plan, revitalise South Lantau instead
- Readers discuss the plan to reclaim land in the waters off Lantau Island, and steps public libraries could take to promote the culture of reading
Instead of frittering away the government’s fiscal reserves on this grandiose and destructive construction project which will mainly enrich a select circle of construction firms, a better approach would be to make use of existing infrastructure and brownfield sites.
Insofar as Lantau is concerned, a far more cost-effective and expeditious option would be for increased public subsidies for ferry services connecting South Lantau to Central and Tsim Sha Tsui. This would enable the revitalisation of the Sea Ranch and similar projects along the South Lantau coast, avoiding the need for massive reclamation and providing Hongkongers with the opportunity to live in an eco-friendly, tranquil environment with good transport links to the main commercial centres.
Nicholas Tam, Sai Ying Pun
How libraries can encourage lifelong learning
To encourage a culture of reading, we must make our public libraries less boring. Perhaps they could employ a professional team to organise interactive talks to avoid a situation where the speaker simply reads from a PowerPoint presentation. There should be more events for adults, rather than children, especially in English, to encourage lifelong learning. Extending the borrowing limit for books would also help those who want to read up on a particular theme.
