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Letters

Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words.
I refer to “Hong Kong suspends contractors over Queen Mary Hospital lift defects” (August 15). With only a small fraction of 28 lifts in a new clinical block at Queen Mary Hospital operating at an acceptable level and the roll-out of clinical services delayed, public attention has understandably focused on rectification works and contractor accountability.
However, viewing this solely as a hospital project’s failure risks missing a larger, more troubling picture.
This incident did not arise in a vacuum. Hong Kong has already been warned about lift management, contractor oversight and asset reliability in the public sector. In 2023, the Audit Commission’s review of lift and escalator maintenance in public rental housing estates found more than 32,900 lift failures between 2020 and the end of April 2023. The review also identified lifts that were out of service for extended periods, repeated failures within short intervals and weaknesses in monitoring contractor performance. Some lift suspensions lasted up to 89 days.
Major public projects are meant to go through numerous checks before opening to the public. Equipment is tested, defects are identified, repairs are carried out and systems are reviewed before final acceptance.
That raises the question: how did such significant problems at Queen Mary Hospital emerge after so many checks and approvals had supposedly been completed?
Hong Kong should take this opportunity to conduct a wider review of how critical infrastructure projects are planned, monitored and approved across government departments and public bodies. Such a review should target the larger issue – how can performance be uplifted to increase long-term reliability?
The public expects hospitals, public housing estates, transport facilities and other essential infrastructure to work when they are needed.
The question is no longer whether one project experienced lift failures. The question is whether Hong Kong’s broader system of oversight is sufficiently robust to ensure that critical public infrastructure is truly ready before it enters service.
Stephanie Y.K. Hasancebi, Sham Tseng
Let’s not be beholden to real estate developers again
Development of the Northern Metropolis, a key component of Hong Kong’s five-year plan, is advancing steadily. I suspect the model of development is very much the same as what made today’s Hong Kong. Perhaps we need a rethink – a better model of development, one which does not leave us beholden to real estate developers and those who boost government coffers.
The five-year plan will be the most consequential development plan in Hong Kong’s history. It will give us a chance to create a better society in terms of city planning, resource allocation, ecological preservation and social welfare for the grass-roots community.
Aesthetics, greenery and climate mitigation are key to creating a world-class city. Our country parks give us an advantage. Future planning should make sure we retain our natural heritage alongside urban development. It would appear our focus in the five-year plan is only on the economy, and not so much on other software components. I urge the government to provide a clear road map that would incorporate other important considerations as well.
T.C. Ng, North Point
Northern Metropolis development the way to go
In my letter, “Increasing cross-harbour toll will not ease tunnel congestion” (August 4, 2010), I noted that one way to effectively address this problem would be to create business centres in the New Territories.
To my glee, a consortium comprising mainland Chinese firms and a local developer has now been granted a massive project in Hung Shui Kiu. This is not only a gigantic project, but it lays the groundwork for confidence – a sentiment reinforced by Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho’s remark that these enterprises have cast a tangible “vote of confidence” in the Northern Metropolis.
There is a wise saying, “Well begun is half done.” I hope this applies to the Northern Metropolis development, which can and will further uplift Hong Kong’s growth. The reason is simple: unity. The consortium’s concerted effort is no more than the opening chapter; unity across every sector of Hong Kong – be it implicit or explicit – is the very engine that will enforce collective accountability and help the city develop.
Ho Kam-tong, Yuen Long


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Hong Kong society

Queen Mary Hospital lift defects raise larger questions for Hong Kong

Lift repairs are carried out in Clinical Block 1 of Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam on August 15. Photo: Karma Lo

Hong Kong suspends contractors over Queen Mary Hospital lift defects

Damaged electronic components, faulty wiring connections and poor installation workmanship were among the problems affecting 24 of the 28 newly installed lifts in Clinical Block 1. Photo: Karma Lo

Clinical Block 1 forms part of the first phase of Queen Mary Hospital’s multibillion-dollar redevelopment. Photo: Karma Lo

‘Unshirkable responsibility’: tax chief apologises for e-filing failures

More than 33,000 people failed to submit completed tax returns because of unclear wording in Hong Kong’s eTAX system. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

The IRD has said no taxpayers will be penalised over the incident. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Fix Hong Kong’s healthcare silos with link workers

Sham Shui Po District Health Centre in 2022. Photo: Jelly Tse


Opinion

Readers discuss oversight of critical public infrastructure, a better development model for the Northern Metropolis, and a project in Hung Shui Kiu


Readers discuss oversight of critical public infrastructure, a better development model for the Northern Metropolis, and a project in Hung Shui Kiu.


Queen Mary Hospital

Infrastructure

Hong Kong

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Readers discuss oversight of critical public infrastructure, a better development model for the Northern Metropolis, and a project in Hung Shui Kiu

Readers discuss oversight of critical public infrastructure, a better development model for the Northern Metropolis, and a project in Hung Shui Kiu