Topic: According to a recent survey, about 25 percent of the population would like to leave Hong Kong to escape its polluted air. Also, those better educated and professionals are more likely to emigrate because of health fears over the poor air quality. Write a letter to the Editor discussing the seriousness and consequences of the problem, commenting on the government’s effort to improve the air quality and suggesting what can be done to alleviate the problem.
Air Pollution
Dear Editor,
As a citizen growing and living in Hong Kong, I believe that I bear an undeniable responsibility to voice my opinion on the issue of worsening air pollution in the territory, expressing all Hong Kong people’s hopes to reunite with our blue, clear and smog-free sky.
Although it might be surprising or even scary to foreigners, the “news” of a record- high air pollution index is, in fact, nothing new to most Hong Kong citizens. Thanks to the non-stop coal-burning power stations and the busy traffic, in 2004, 875 tons of pollutants entered the city’s atmosphere every day, providing great support to the API to stand firmly at a high level. With a dramatic increase in the number of days with low visibility from 40 in 1997 to 102 in 2005, it is extremely natural that most Hong Kong people now can hardly remember how brilliant their Oriental Pearl can be when it is free from the thick clouds of smog enveloping the harbor and the skyscrapers, nor can they find a way to escape from breathing in the poisonous air. Facing such a grave threat of pollution, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the SAR government to claim its city as Asia’s world city.
Besides blocking our view and preventing our tourists from enjoying the marvelous scenery of Hong Kong, the smog surrounding is also bringing serious consequences to our city, both socially and economically.
The foremost and the most obvious impact of the polluted air is undoubtedly its threat to the citizens’ health, especially due to the dense population of Hong Kong and the close proximity of millions of people to busy, exhaust-gas-generating roads. According to a research conducted by the University of Hong Kong, the continuously poor air quality, which is lowered by various toxic and carcinogenic pollutants like nitrogen oxides as well as sulphur dioxide, actually accounts for over 1800 deaths together with pollution-induced respiratory and other chronic diseases each year. In addition, local health experts also estimate that the serious air pollution in the busy financial hub is responsible for 90000 hospital admissions per year, too, adding extra burden to the overloaded public medical system. All these shocking figures clearly demonstrate a major health risk that we all are facing due to the declining air quality.
Besides, air pollution is also eroding our economic prosperity as well as the city’s status as an international financial centre, since the reduced air quality has made Hong Kong significantly less attractive to talents and firms all over the globe, lowering the city’s competitiveness relative to its major rivals like Singapore and Shanghai when they all turn their eyes to these cleaner, healthier and safer cities. In fact, the American Chamber of Commerce also found that 55% of its member firms have faced difficulties in inviting their professional, skilled employees to work in Hong Kong, saying that the serious pollution problem is now scaring foreign investors away.
With the problem of air pollution compounding at an alarming rate, I believe numerous Hong Kong residents, including me, are now feeling extremely disappointed about the little work the authority has done through the years to address the problem. Perhaps what the officials can help is to make grand but empty slogans to demonstrate their “efforts” put into improving the air quality, just like the previous example of the fruitless Action Blue sky Campaign. At the same time, the government seems to have little interest in revising its air quality control standards, which can be dated back to the 80s and is commonly criticized for its loose and over-lenient requirements over pollution control, so as to comply with the widely accepted guidelines advised by the World Health Organization. The little attention paid by the authority to the issue has aroused many questions of whether our government realizes and understands the significance of a better air quality. Our health will unavoidably continue to be under threat until the government really focuses on alleviating the problem.
In spite of the fact that we are now facing a thorny problem, I am still confident that the air quality in Hong Kong can be improved one day, but this is possible only with the coordinated effort of the government as well as every Hongkonger.
To begin with, the local authority has to abandon its ostrich policy towards air pollution, and actively address the problem. For instance, in the short term, the government should first raise the current ineffective air quality control standards to the level suggested by WHO, in an attempt to ensure acceptable air quality and to reflect the actual situation to the citizens more clearly. In the long term, the government ought to consider spending part of its 600 billion financial reserve in investigating the possibility of using various renewable energy sources in the territory, trying to diversify our sources of power and to cut the city’s reliance on air-polluting fossil fuels. Moreover, being one of the victims of the highly polluting industry clustered in the Pearl River Delta, Hong Kong has no choice but to establish a closer tie with the mainland, cooperating with the latter to encourage factories, which are often owned by Hong Kong firms, to develop low-pollutant emission production methods through technical and financial assistance, so as to remove the harmful pollutants from their source.
Besides, every Hong Kong citizen also bears the obligation to help in improving the air quality, by switching to a more environmentally friendly and less energy-consuming lifestyle. For instance, instead of driving our own cars, we can consider using the public transport services, especially mass transport system such as MTR. Furthermore, despite their possible higher prices, more efficient electrical appliances should be in the first priority in our purchase lists, not only to reduce the amount of energy consumed unnecessarily, but also to prevent a big, fat bill from the electricity companies by the end of the month. Although a greener lifestyle might be less convenient, no one can deny its effectiveness and necessity, since it is the only way-out for the problem of air pollution.
We reap what we sow. In order to improve the city’s air quality and to reclaim the blue sky, both the government and the Hongkongers must take a step forward, joining their hands to alleviate the problem, for the sake of both the present as well as the future generations.
Yours faithfully,
Chris Wong
Chris Wong