Dear 4E
This week you are going to respond to a star letter in Young Post of South China Morning Post. Please write your response (150 words) to the writer.
Ms Fong
Young Post, South China Morning Post
Spare a thought for Tai O residents
Tai O – often praised as the Venice of Hong Kong – used to be a water town that was popular with tourists. Unfortunately, after Typhoon Hagupit, most of the village is ruined.
Pang Uk has been transformed into rubble, and the beaches are littered with rubbish. The government has done little to revive the place.
I think the people of Tai O should be granted cash relief to help them clean up the mess and get their lives back on track. Most of them are elderly, have little personal savings and lack the physical strength to rebuild their homes on their own.
Tai O is a part of our history. The Tai O Folk Museum, which shows how people lived a century ago by fishing and producing salt, was badly damaged.
I think schools could help by sending student volunteers on a field trip to clean up the museum. By doing so, I think they will learn more about early Hong Kong history and help others at the same time.
Anson Leung
Tai O is a very special and ideal place to relax from the hustle and bustle life.Many tourist like visting there because it shows them the other side of Hong Kong.It just likes a museum showing the life style in the early era.It is unfortunate
that it was damaged by the horrible typhoon.The government should help the locals to clean up the mess.For a long term Tai po should be promoted widely to appeal tourists to visit which in return foster the economy there.The money can be put on facilitate the environment of Tai Po.Tai po is worth preserving which is the legacy for the new generation .If we do not retain it now,Tai Po will vanish and the new generation will have no chance to recall the memories of the pervious age.Don’t hesitate and act on it now !
I am Kan Ka Man (4E09).
I am Sandy Lau.
Although I have been to Tai O for one or two times only ,I was impressed by the natural beauty.
Hongkongers usually work in a busy area and they work under great pressure all the time.Some of them often go to Tai O and relax themselves and learn about life there.
Unfortunately,such a good place was destroyed by the typhoon.The Pang Uk was turned into rubble.However,do any of the government officials take are of the poor elderlys there?From my point of view,I think that the government should give a small amount of money to the elderly which is in need.Later,the government can employ some workers to rebuilt and repair the Pang Uk for them ,which is free of charge.For the problems of litters found in the beach,I have got the same idea as the writer does.We can ask some students to be the volunteer and clean the beach.Lastly,the museum has a high memorical and historical value.The government should try her best to preserve it and employ some workers for reparing purpose.
The government should try her best to preserve it and employ some workers for repairing purpose.
Hi, I am Sandy Woo.
Tai O is a tourist spot, it has a long river and because of this river, mant people come to Tai O.
But when there is typhoon, the water of the river will spread to the house and cause a lot of houses ruined.
I think the government should form a group to help the people live in Tai O to rebuild their house.
As the above newspaper said, many people live in Tai O are elderly, they may don’t have their own financial ability to afford these payment for rebuilding their house. So i really think that the government should help the people live in Tai O which were involved in this typhoon.
Tai O is not only a part of our history, but it is also a part of Hong Kong. Everyone is responsible to protect and treasure Tai O, as it is so antique and full of the memory of Hong Kong. However, people are so busy with their jobs and they have already neglected Tai O for a long period of time. The typhoon had raised our attention to Tai O, as the old people there suffered a lot from the typhoon. Our quick and busy lifestyles have clouded us, and we cannot notice anything changes in Hong Kong. Thanks for the typhoon we got an extra day-off, and it slows us down, so we can have a look of our surroundings. This time we could do some repair work, how about the next time? We have to cherish everything we have, and do not do anything that will make us regretted. Everyone knows this, but have we taken action?
Tai O is the last fishing village in Hong Kong. It is also famous in the world. I was sad to hear that Tai O was hardly damaged by the typhoon Hagupit. Most of the places in Tai O were ruined. Also Hong Kong most of the people works a lot and have no time to went to country side such as Tai O to relax themselves.
In my opinion, I think people in Hong Kong should bear the responsibility to help to protect and preserve Tai O. In order to do this, we must help the people in Tai O to rebuild their house. Also, it is important to rebuild and protect the Tai O Folk Museum because it contain the history of Tai O and even Hong Kong. So, at last I hope we can teach the further generation to notice the protection of the environment.
I have never been to Tai O but I know it is a beautiful place in Hong Kong. That is why Tai O is often praised as the Venice of Hong Kong and it has become a tourist spot in Hong Kong. However, most of the village was ruined after the typhoon but the government did not help much to revive the place.
I think the government should help them more to revive the place. For example, the government should give them some money to help them to rebuild their homes and clean up the mess.
Although Tai O is not as famous as the other place in Hong Kong like Tsim Sha Tsui, but it is also a part of our history. I agree that the school can send some student volunteers to help the people in Tai O because they can learn some early Hong Kong history at the same time.
I have never been to Tai O and don’t know much about it, until the last typhoon that had made a great damage to it. From the article, I agree that the government should help the people in Tai O by rebuilding their damaged houses, as most of the people living there are elderly.
Also, I think that The Tai O Folk Museum is very valuable not only in Tai O, but also in Hong Kong, as the museum has collected a lot of memories of how people lived there in the past.
But now, most of the collections were damaged after the typhoon. Photos about the past were damaged the most, they were soaked buy sea water overnight and were badly damaged.
I hope that the government, or the others, can help preserving and rebuilding the museum and the little town, so that people get back to their houses as soon as possible and tourists can visit Tai O again.
It is a pity that Tai O was seriously damaged by Typhoon Hagupit. I agree that the government has done too little to revive the place. I think that the government should help the people living in Tai O clean up the mass and rebuild their homes with stronger materials so that the houses will not be damaged again easily. It is very difficult for them to do so by themselves because most of them are elderly. Apart from that, I think the government may subsidize the residents to preserve the Tai O Folk Museum. Also, volunteer from different organizations, not only schools, may also help to clean up the museum so that the new generation can know more about the history of Hong Kong. I hope that the people can return to their homes as soon as possible and Tai O can become a beautiful place again soon in the future.
HALO~This is Bonnie Ma.
‘Tai O is a part of our history.’
It is true! The Tai O Folk Museum contains a lot of history of the residents there!But now it was badly damaged.
It is a pity that Tai O was ruined by the typhoon. Also,I think the new generation of Tai O or our HK citizens would like to know more about the history of Tai O.So I think our HK government should do something to help them to tide over their difficulties.
Do you know about the place called Tai O? I have never been to there before. I even do not figure out where it is; however, when I heard of the news about Tai O’s village being ruined by Typhoon Hagupit, I felt so regrettable. And also, I have better understanding of Tai O.
Because of the awful Typhoon Hagupit, most of the beautiful spots in Tai O are damaged.Yet, I am boiling with rage that the goverment has done little to revive the place. It falls to the goverment to help the people of Tai O to clean up the mess.
I firmly believe that Tai O is of great importance for us. I hope the goverment will play an active part in reviving Tai O.
I am 4e35
Although i have been Tai O once , i think it is a very beautiful and special place in Hong Kong.
If u haven’t been there before, you won’t think that it is located in Hong Kong .Therefore i agree with the writer that it is named as the Venice of Hong Kong . However , i am very surprised about the news . There are a lot of disadventages after the most of the village is ruined.
First, the Hong Kong tourism will be affected because it is a famous tourists spot . Second, the people living in Tai O are very poor because Pang Uk has been transformed into rubble. They lose ther house ! The whole villiage are lonesome at once . In this case , government has done very little to help Tai O. Does it mean that the government don’t care about it even though it has been destoyed ? Tai O is a historical place where we can find some traditional life of Hong Kong people so it is worth a visit . i hope the government can help reviving it at soon at possible.
Therefore we can see the recovered Tai O again
In the past, I knew about Tai O from some television programs. I just knew it is a fishing village and mainly produce ‘shrimp paste’ as souvenirs for selling.
I totally agree with the writer. Most of the people living in Tai O are elderly. I think they have no ability to build their houses again on their own. So I think what the government should do, is enact some policies to help them to rebuild their own home! At the same time, the government should not lose sight of the other residents living in Tai O too!
The idea of the last paragraph of the news is quite good. It could let the student volunteers to learn more history, rebuild the museum, learn how to serve others. What is more, they can reserve this precious village.
To conclude, the government should enact policies to help the residents to clear the mess, and could send some student volunteers to clean up the museum.
I am 4E30
Although i have only been Tai O once,I have a great expression of ideas for this piece of news.With the rapidly development of Hong Kong,people may forgot the environment of Hong Kong.But should we solve this problem instead of let it go?
I think the EPD(Environmental Protection Department)should bear the responsibility,for example ,as the writer said EPD can force the schools could help by sending student volunteers on a field trip to clean up the museum.Tai O is a beautiful place ,with lots of traditional culture.I don’t want Tai O this place will become only our history but a part of Hong Kong.
I am 4E29 Kao Long Hei,Kenneth. Recently , Tai O is strunk by the terrible typhoon. Most of the village in Tai O is seriously damaged . It leads to financial and living problems to the residents in Tai O ,especially the ederly. They can’t afford to the rebuild and they have no physical strength to do it. Moreover , Tai O is a place whuch full of valuable heritage and unique culture. But most of them have been ruined by the typhoon. Now what we should is to pay an effort on the rebuild of the villages in Tai O. I really hop that Tai O can revive and become the same as before —-a beautiful place .
All of us know that Tai O plays an important part of fishing activities in Hong Kong and it is famous for its marine products, especially the shrimp paste.
The typhoon Hagupit is the most destructive typhoon in Hong Kong this year. Last month, it stony destroyed many Tai O residents’ properties and their houses, especially for those Pang Uk because they are one of the most important culture heritage and they very rare in Hong Kong now. The hygiene in Tai O now is also become one of the main problems. Their request of cash relief is conceivable. I believe the government will not turn a blind eye to the problems that the Tai O residents are facing.I feel sympathy on the Tai O residents but I am afraid students may not have such an ability to help to clean up the museum. This method is a bit not workable.
I hope after the rebuild of Tai O , all the things can return to normal and I can travel there again.
Tai O is a very beautiful place. Many tourist like to visit it. Tai O is strunk by the typhoon. Most of the village in Tai O is seriously damaged. From the article, I agree that the government should help the people in Tai O by rebuilding their houses. I hope Tai O can be rebuild soon.
Tai O is one of the fishing villages which can survive during the development of Hong Kong.It is valuable to all the Hongkongers. It has showed us that how Hong Kong looks like before.It is an instructive place for the students to learn the history about Hong Kong.
But after the Typhoon Hagupit,TAi O is ruined.And most of the people living there are elderly who do not have the ablity to rebuild the house.So I think the government should take up the responsibility to help them to protect the important history in Hong Kong.And I think Tai O has many characteristics which can introduce the true Hong Kong to the visitors all over the world. Also I think it would be good for the schools to send the student volunteers to clean up the museum.Then the students can have learning during working.On the other hand,they can enjoy the beautiful view in Tai O and relax themselves from the busy learning.I am looking forward to see the beautiful Tai O again.
I’m 4E40, Marco.
Tai O is a special place and I had been there when I was 10. I remember that there were many delecious foods. It is also a historical place that many houses were built many years ago. Tai O was destroyed by the last typhoon. I think the government should help the people in Tai O to rebuild their houses. Hope that it will become normal very soon.
I am 4E11 Esther Kwok.
I have never been to Tai O before.But i know Tai O is a place with peace.It is a beautiful water town that full of tourists.Unfortunately, such a wonderful water town was ruined by the typhoon Hagupit.Most of the people living in Tai O are eldery.For what they can do to help Tai O after the typhoon is not much.As the writer mentioned that they have little personal savings and lack the physical strength to rebuild their homes on their own. The government should do more to revive the place, to protect the hisory. I agree that we sholud help.By sending student volunteers, the teacher can teach the student not just about the histoy of HongKong, also the damages after typhoon.
This can also provide a chance for students to vistit such a peaceful area.Besides, it can help students to develop their responsibility to the society during their cleaning up work.
I am 4E19 Mavis.
Tai O is a unique place. It is a tranquil and a traditional water town. So it often praised as a Venice of Hong Kong and it always attract many tourist. But after the typhoon, many things were ruin. I also disappointed with that. I can’t expect that the typhoon is so destructive. It not only destroyed the Pang UK , but also the things in the Tai O Folk Museum. The things in museum are so memorable, unfortunately they were badly damage. I think the government should give more support to the elderly that live in Tai O and help them to revive the place. I also agree with the writer that we can send some volunteer to Tai O to clean up the museum. Tai O is not only a part of history, it also a part of Hong Kong, so the government should help to preserve and treasure it.
Tai O residents are very poor .Before Typhoon Hagupit ,they was living happily in a friendly atmosphere .But after the disaster ,the village is ruined .Most of them lost their houses .The most tragic incident is that most of the sufferers are elderly .They don’t have the ability to rebuild their houses .But fortunately ,this tragety happened in a well-developed city -Hong Kong .As Hong Kong people are very
generous and helpful .They will give financial supports to those who need help without hesitation .So the government should hold some raise money program to help the Tai o residents to rebuild their houses and especially The Tai O Folk Museum .And I also think that sending student volunteers on a field trip to clean up the museum and the beaches is a good idea .As they can learn more about early Hong Kong history and help others .
I hope that people can lean from this experience ,take precaution before the disaster come to avoid the tragety happen again .
First of all, I think Tai O is a very special place in Hong Kong because in Hong Kong it seldom has a place which is like a water town. Because of this, it attracts many tourists come to Hong Kong to visit Tai O every year as there has many traditional food which is made by the people living in Tai O, e.g. shrimp paste.
The news has mentioned that it has been destroyed by the typhoon Hagupit, I feel very sad and I pity the villagers. On the other hand, I am quite angry about the government, they don’t help the villagers in Tai O especially the elderly. Their houses are ruined and they can’t live normally and can’t start working. Tai O is one of the islands in Hong Kong, although it is quite far from the rural area, they should not be neglected. I think the government really need to done something on it, e.g. rebuild the village as it is one of the hottest tourist spot in Hong Kong.
I absolutely agree with the editor—- Anson Leung says that schools could help by sending student volunteers to clean up the museum in Tai O. If the school organizes this kind of activities, I would like to be the first one to join it. As participate in this kind of activities, I really can learn more about the history of Hong Kong. Besides this, I would feel very glad to help the villagers as it is more blessed to give than to receive.
I’m 4E 32,
Tai O is not just a tourist spot. In fact, it also retained lots of memories about Hong Kong. Tai O was badly damaged by the typhoon,I agree with the writer that the government should give a helping hand to the peoples in there to get back a normal life. But I think it is not enough by giving them money, also we should send workers to Tai O to rebuild their home.
By the way, sending volunteers to Tai O is a good idea because we can let them know the feelings of being homeless and how they are lucky.
I am 4E12 Amy Lai.
I think the people in Tai O do not want to move to other places, because they like Tai O very much and they think that Tai O is the most comfortable place to live in.
Also, Tai O is a wonderful place too, there are many nice people, and they can make a lot of delicious food too. If the people in Tai O move to other places to live, will there any people in Tai O to tourists later? Since the people in Tai O had gone already, therefore no more people to surf the tourists and make tasty food.
In addition, the writer said that the school can send some students to clean up the museum and the beach; I think it is a good idea, the museum and the beach can be cleaned up and the students can know how hard the dustmen are.
In conclusion, I think the government should not remove the residents in Tai O and it is a good idea that sends students to clean up Tai O.
Tai O is one of the famous place in Hong Kong. Many visitors from the mainland and other countries have visited it. Originally, Tai O is a beautiful place. But it was ruined after the typhoon. I think the government should do more on helping the people who lived there to rebuild Tai O. Although it need a lot of money and time, I think it is worth doing as Tai O is a part of Hong Kong.
I agree with Anson Leung that Tai O is part of our history. It carries the memory of Hong Kong people’s life in the past.
I also agree with Anson Leung that schools can send student to help the people who lived in Tai O to clean up the museum. I also think that the people who are interested in learning more about early Hong Kong history can also become volunteers to clean up the museum.
i am elli,4E08.
i have heard about Tai O just a few years ago, i have never been there but i want to been there!i watched TV and saw Tai O is what a amazing place.It is ver different from the place in Hong Kong like Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui.It is a place where has many water and very quiet,comfortable.However,the natural disaster may also happen there.
After the Typhoon Hagupit, Tai O was hardly damaged but the government has done nothing that can help the people lived in Tai O.Tai O is a place given by the nature and it was a testimony of the development of Hong Kong.What a pity to those elderly living there, they must very anxious.
The Tai O Folk Museum is a spot for tourist to visit,however it was badly damaged.
I agree with the writer that the school can help by sending student volunteers on a field trip to clean up the museum.And I think the most useful way is the government can set a group to help them.
I hope we can see the original Tai O vey soon.
Tai O is really a good place for people to relax and spend a day there. It is unlucky that it is ruined by the typhoon Hagupit. The people who live in there are very poor because their home and living environment are damaged. Also, most of the residents there are eldly. They do not have ability to rebuild their home their own. The government should give enough support ang help to them.
I believe that many visitors like to go to Tai O. If it can be rebuilt quickl, it must attract many tourists. Hope that Tai O can become a wonderful place again very soon.
Although i have not been to Tai O before. However, from this article, i know that Tai O is a place which can show the history of Hong Kong. The elderlies always want to have a good ending at their last few years of their life, so I think that the government should help do something to revive Tai O.
I was wondering why the government don’t do anything to help the Tai O Folk Museum after Typhoon Hagupit. The history of Hong Kong is also very important.
Students in every school will have a chance to go for field trip, the school can set the place for field trip as Tai O. This can help them understand the history of people that live hundred years ago.
I have been to Tai O before. The view there is very attractive and I think that this kind of view should not be damaged. However, no one is trying to revive it. The Tai O Folk Museum shows us the Hong Kong people hundred years ago. It tells us how people lived by fishing and producing salt. I hope that the government should carry some activities to help rebuild the houses in Tai O and the Tai O Folk Museum. Also, students may join the volunteer work to help clean the place to maintain a good environment there.
I am extremely agree the view of the writer. Tai O is a particular place in Hong Kong, it is the only place which likes a water town in Hong Kong so that many tourists visit there.
After the Typhoon Hagupit, Tai O was damaged seriously. As most of the residents are eldery, they have not enough ability to build up their houses. Therefore, I think the government should do something to help them. For example, the government should give them money and help them to build up their houses.
Moreover, I also agree that the schools can help by sending student volunteers to clean up the museum. Then they can learn more about the history in Hong Kong and help people at the same time.
Tai O is Venezia of Hong Kong. It is one of the most beautiful fish villages. We can find a smell of shrimp paste and salted fish even we only get nearby this place. I remember something told by a teacher in the lesson. She asked why the villagers don’t move to the public housing instead of living in the huts on the river when she was visiting Tai O. Then her husband answered if there is no hut, it is not worth to visit the public housing there.
I have only visited this place once. There are many things that we can never find in a modern city. Besides the special products of Tai O, there is other local customs and practices, like the neighbor relationship. Because of it, the villagers are not willing to move to other places even they need to face the strong typhoon. They want to keep it from one generation to another. We should help to protect this culture because Tai O is not only Hong Kong people’s past. It is also our future.
I think Tai O is a very special place in Hong Kong that are full of Hong Kong traditional characteristic.We can still find the old fishing village and we can know that how did the people lived in Hong Kong in the past by visiting Tai O.But very unfortunately,after the Typhoon Hagupit,Tai O has been heavily damaged.
In the paragraph,the writer said that schools could help by sending student volunteers on a field trip to clean up the museum.I also agree with the idea.But i think that not just students should go to clean up Tai O,all the Hong Kong citizens also have the responsibility to protect this important traditional place – Tai O.
By 4E28
i help “4E07″ to upload her paragraph.
I think sending student volunteers on a field trip to clean up the museum are a really good idea. Besides from learning more about early Hong Kong history, they can also learn how to communicate with the elderly. They can try to care about the others too.
The people of Tai O are very poor. The lose their things and house, so they have to rebuild their home but they don’t have enough money and raw material. Also the Tai O Folk Museum was badly damaged. Students may need to visit the Museum that looks how people fishing and producing salt. It is the time that government help them now . The government can give money to them and help to rebuild the buildings.
BY 4E07
I am Jim, 4E23.
Tai O, a very good place to live in. I have been there once. It is very unique in Hong Kong. I like there very much. That is a good
place for traveling. Watching the chinese white dolphins is a “must” activity there. Tai O is also very famous of the houses in water. They are very special. They are good architectures too.
I am 4E21
Actually, there are multitude of things that can be done to the ruied village. I think the suggestion made by Anson Leung is workable. I know that our school’s geography students go on a field trip once a month. It will be a great idea that they can help to clean the museum while they are visiting Tai O.
Apart from sending volunteers there, we should also teach youngster how to conserve the environment. We all know how powerful the nature is. It can vanish everything in seconds. So we should not do any negative to it.
Last but not least, we have to expose ourselves more in our mother nature instead of just staying at home without knowing the old tradition in Hong Kong
HERE is ERIC NG. (Technical problem)
I think Tai O is a good and unique place.
It can help attract tourists from others countries especially from western country because most oversea tourists would like to learn more about Hong Kong Wild.
KENNY 4E36
Tai O,when I first heard this name,I won’t think this is a place in Hong Kong.But I know it is a nice place to live in and visit.If anyone want to go there,I highly recommended going to watch the chinese white dolphins,They are really excellent and attractive.
On the other hands,Tai O is a historical place and full of Hong Kong culture.Be a citizen of Hong Kong,we have responsbility to protect them.Because Tai O can show the other look of Hong Kong to foriegners.
I am tammy4E16.
Tai O is really a beautiful place to visit as i have been there once. However, it has been distroyed by Typhoon. most of the villages ruined and people there are seriously affected. We should know more the history of Tai O in order to care about the society.
Besides, i think the environment of tai O should be protected so that we can enjoy the beauty of nature. Therefore, the government have to decide a effective measure to conserve Tai O.