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  Straits Times Forum 28 Feb 07
Learn from HK how to cope with 6.5m people
 Letter from Anne Wong Holloway (Ms)

I REFER to the article, 'Concrete jungle with little elbow room' (ST Insight, Feb 24), which compares Hong Kong with Singapore.

It is difficult to draw a straightforward comparison of these two cities as each has its unique qualities and flaws.

Hong Kong is blessed with hills and large areas of undisturbed coastline. Thus while areas like Mongkok and Central may teem with people, many more of them get to enjoy views of other than expressways or an adjoining condominium as we tend to in Singapore. Then there are beaches that Hongkongers flock to at weekends when the weather is good. And verdant country parks - complete with amenities such as barbecue pits - where they can go on walks or for picnics.

Ferries ply the outlying islands which offer restaurants, more beaches and walking or hiking trails, which one sometimes shares with cross-country cyclists. In recent years, rail services between Kowloon and outlying areas in the New Territories have been boosted.

Public transport is excellent, which is why most eschew cars in favour of taxis, the MTR, buses and mini buses - for work or recreation. Residential complexes run shuttles to a central location.

In many instances it is cheaper and more convenient to use public transport than to own and drive a car unless one goes to places off the beaten track regularly. Proof of this is that some members of the Hong Kong Golf Club (HKGC) travel from the island or Kowloon to Sheung Shui by a combination of MTR and rail for their games several times a week.

The public-transport system is well coordinated and the club has golf-bag storage facilities, which make light of this commute. When reciprocal members from Singapore visit and stay at HKGC in the New Territories, they seem to suffer no hardship when they visit Shenzhen, Kowloon or the island.

I am not qualified to comment on the schools in either place, but I do have experience of their public and private health systems. The Hospital Authority in Hong Kong does a good job, especially when you consider the constraints under which they operate and the number of people they have to serve.

Rather than try to draw comparisons, we should examine how Hong Kong copes with the needs of its population in order to prepare for our own 6.5 million.
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