Pollution obscures Hong Kong's future

Frustration is a feeling that encompasses those who travel on Tsim Sha Tsui seaport. "I really didn't see anything ," said one tourist, pointing to the foggy fog, and what they wanted to see was the skyscrapers going into the postcard to Hong Kong. only to see black shadows looming over the sea.

Hong Kong is also called Huong Cang (fragrant harbor), but now, the smell of exhaust gas is annoying to anyone who inhales. Some entrepreneurs are ready to leave here to come to cool air in Singapore.

Michael Short has lived in Hong Kong for 17 years and has always loved it. But in the 1990s, things began to change. "I often go through the harbor every day and finally realize that things are getting worse. It is disappointing not being able to see the other side."

Mr. Short is a director of a company and 18 months ago, he packed up to move to Singapore. "We can work in Hong Kong, but no director wants to live there. This is real!"

Local issues

Hong Kong (Photo: VNN)

There are two main sources of air pollution in Hong Kong. One is due to emissions of factories in the Chau Giang river sub-region, often creating misty mist covering the harbor. The second is due to local sources - emissions from vehicles, power plants and from marine and waterway vehicles.

Christine Loh, head of the Civic Exchange advisory group, said that it is difficult to blame the source of cross-border emissions, which the Government should take responsibility for slow response."So far, the Government still denies it, so it doesn't act at all," she said , adding that cross-border pollution sources are "made in Hong Kong" - many of the 70,000 factories. in Chau Giang owned by Hong Kong businessman.

"Pollution causes many chronic diseases and diminishes the lifespan of people ," said Anthony Hedley, Professor of Public Health at Hong Kong University. The government has set many goals for improving air quality, but has not been implemented yet.

"It seems they want to delay because of concerns that will affect Hong Kong's image ," said Bill Barron, an environmental economist at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

"You wake up in the morning and the government declares that today, pollution will be high. You have to get used to this ," said Connell, the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Agency. measures such as tightening environmental regulations with traffic vehicles, introducing clean fuels and controlling exhaust engines . Somehow, the police have been quite successful, emissions causing pollution from vehicles traffic has decreased significantly since 1997. However, the level of pollution in the streets is still high, Hong Kong is where more than half of the population lives near the roads.

Part of the problem is the huge concentration of people and vehicles in Hong Kong, where the roads are crowded, skyscrapers are dense and air pollution is difficult to disperse.

In a document, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPD) was well aware of the impact of air pollution on socio-economic life: "Preventing environmental pollution is not only meaningful to health. community and quality of life, but also has a profound impact on Hong Kong's long-term development process '.

However, environmental activists all say that the Hong Kong legislature is too business oriented, especially in the transport sector. One of the "electoral functions" areas (positions in the legislative council representing special interests) are selected from the transport sector. ' ' Two train companies are selected one, many taxi and mini bus owners are also elected. There is no basis to determine how many companies are allowed to participate, '' explained Bill Barron.

Miriam Lau, representing the traffic sector voters, emphasized that business means cooperation: "Environmental activists want to change everything at a glance. But this is a business society. companies that have invested, they cannot simply throw things away. Time is essential for change.

Ms. Lau pointed out that the people themselves are more eager to choose delegates in the transport sector than any other lobbyist.

There have been positive signs of cross-border cooperation on environmental protection between Hong Kong and Guangdong. An air quality monitoring technical team was formed and the two governments pledged to reduce emissions that polluted the air in 2010.

The Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce and the Environmental Business Council have established a volunteer supervision team to ensure "green" business requirements. There are also plans to reduce emissions from power plants and traffic.

Michael Short said that he would return to Hong Kong if the sky returned to its original green color.

United Mail