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Letters

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After a summer downpour, run-off from Hong Kong’s busiest roads may carry more than leaves and litter. It can wash accumulated tyre- and road-surface particles, metals and chemical additives into drains and receiving waters.
This overlooked issue deserves attention as vehicle electrification and more frequent short-duration heavy rain converge. As of the end of May 2026, Hong Kong has about 178,000 electric vehicles, representing 19.4 per cent of all vehicles, while more than seven in 10 newly registered private cars are electric.
On July 20, the Hong Kong Observatory reported that heavy rain events lasting one to three hours increased significantly between 2000 and 2024.
Electric vehicles remain essential to cleaner transport. They eliminate tailpipe emissions, support decarbonisation and, through regenerative braking, can reduce brake wear. But every vehicle, whatever its power source, still uses tyres and roads. The interaction releases particles that may become airborne or remain in road dust until intense rain mobilises them.
We do not yet know the scale or composition of this pollution in Hong Kong’s stormwater, where it accumulates, or what environmental or public health risks it may pose. Overseas studies identify potential concerns but cannot reproduce the city’s combination of dense traffic, subtropical weather, vehicle types, road materials and drainage conditions. That uncertainty is a reason to investigate, not ignore, the issue.
The government should establish a 12-month monitoring pilot in contrasting locations: a tunnel approach, a bus or goods-vehicle corridor, and an arterial road in a densely populated district. Researchers should collect road dust and stormwater before, during and after major storms, analysing particle quantity, size and composition alongside traffic, road conditions, preceding dry periods and rainfall intensity.
The work should unite transport, highways, drainage, environmental and public health authorities with universities and industry. Findings could inform road-material procurement, street cleaning, drainage maintenance and future tyre standards. Hong Kong could also build on existing rain gardens, bioswales and silt traps by testing their effectiveness in capturing tyre- and road-wear particles, while assessing clogging, contaminated sediment, maintenance and worker safety.
This is not an argument against electric vehicles, nor a claim that they alone cause the problem. It is an argument for completing the transition they represent. Cleaner transport policy must address not only what leaves the exhaust pipe, but also what is released where tyres meet roads – and where it goes when the rain begins.
Ling N. Jin, associate professor, and Zhen Leng, professor, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Chinese film offers a fresh view on war
I refer to the report, “Hit film about Iraq war gets Beijing message to wider world” (August 19).
For a long time, Chinese cinema has attached great importance to grand narratives, particularly those centred on nationalism, patriotism and loyalty.
Once Upon a Time in the Middle East may represent an interesting turn. The film is said to draw on the experiences of Chinese restaurateurs who lived through the Iraq war. Significantly, there is little emphasis on intervention by the Chinese state. Instead, Chinese individuals confront extreme circumstances while continuing to protect vulnerable local people. Their actions arise from human compassion rather than nationality.
This may be where the film’s soft power really lies. It recalls untold stories of Chinese people interacting with Middle Eastern societies while experiencing the consequences of war themselves.
More importantly, it offers a Chinese perspective from which the world can reflect on the Iraq war not merely as geopolitics, but through its impact on ordinary people.
They, after all, are innocent.
Jiannan Sun, Beijing
US voters must make the right choice in the midterms
As midterm elections in the United States approach, let’s hope the voters there consider the rest of the world and we get on the path to responsible leadership of the world, which has been lacking for the last 10 years. I understand the impulse to put the country first. However, the world needs to be united or it could cease to exist. It’s time for the minority to support the majority.
Duncan Hancock, Lamma Island


Hong Kong aims to raise zero-carbon energy share of fuel mix to 30% by 2030

Hong Kong must prepare for the impact of heat-related work stoppages

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

Cathay Pacific, Google scale up AI tests to reduce aviation’s climate impact

Hong Kong environmental issues

Hong Kong’s cleaner transport push must not neglect tyre pollution

The Cross-Harbour Tunnel on April 10. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Going big and going green can work together for Hong Kong mega-events

Blackpink take to the stage at Hong Kong’s 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium on January 24. Photo: Jess Ma

Vocalist Chris Martin performs during Coldplay’s concert at Kai Tak Stadium on April 9, 2025. Photo: Harvey Kong

Tesla forced to recall record 3 million cars in China over door-handle issue

A staff member cleans an electric car inside a Tesla store in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Opinion

Readers discuss the need to monitor tyre pollution in the city, a Chinese film about the Iraq war, and the US midterms


Readers discuss the need to monitor tyre pollution in the city, a Chinese film about the Iraq war, and the US midterms.


Electric & new energy vehicles

Hong Kong weather

Hong Kong

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Readers discuss the need to monitor tyre pollution in the city, a Chinese film about the Iraq war, and the US midterms

Readers discuss the need to monitor tyre pollution in the city, a Chinese film about the Iraq war, and the US midterms