Hong Kong: Drivers stage slow-drive protest for help to cut pollution (AP)greenspun.com : LUSENET : Sustainable Business & Living iForum : One Thread |
Drivers stage slow-drive protest for help to cut pollution
Sunday, May 7, 2000
)2000 Associated Press
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2000/05/07/international0421EDT0412.DTL
[Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only]
(05-07) 01:21 PDT HONG KONG (AP) -- Under a blanket of gray haze, drivers from more than 10 unions drove slowly and clogged traffic Sunday in downtown Hong Kong, demanding more government help for them to cut air pollution, local media said.
Nearly 300 protesters, in about 20 taxis, trucks, minibuses and tour buses, took about an hour to drive 2.8 miles through the business district, Television Broadcast reported. The protest was orderly but slowed the late morning traffic.
The demonstrators then marched to government headquarters carrying placards that said, ``The industry wants to protect the environment.''
The protesters want the government to help them convert their vehicles from using the highly polluting diesel to cleaner liquefied petroleum gas, and to upgrade the LPG distribution infrastructure.
Air pollution hit record levels in recent months as population and traffic continue to climb in this tiny territory. The government says it will spend $3.8 billion in a 10-year plan to cut pollution.
)2000 Associated Press
-- Anonymous, May 07, 2000
Disney chairman expresses concern about Hong Kong's air pollutionTuesday, April 11, 2000
)2000 Associated Press[Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only]
(04-11) 06:20 PDT HONG KONG (AP) -- Walt Disney's chairman Michael Eisner has expressed concern about air pollution in Hong Kong, which is building a Disney theme park, Radio Hong Kong reported Tuesday.
The government-owned radio quoted Hong Kong's Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa as saying that Eisner made the remark when Tung toured Disney facilities at the company's headquarters in Burbank, Calif., earlier in the day as part of his visit to the United States.
Tung was quoted as saying Eisner and his company were very concerned about environmental protection and called on Hong Kong to do better in tackling poor air quality.
The Hong Kong government has said it will spend the equivalent of $3.8 billion in the next 10 years to reduce pollution, including a plan for drivers to use cleaner liquefied petroleum gas instead of diesel.
But only about 700 taxi drivers, out of a fleet of 19,000, have switched to the cleaner fuel so far. Environmentalists say the government's plan doesn't go far enough.
Government officials see the building of Disneyland in Hong Kong as a big attraction that will boost tourism and maintain the territory's status as a top Asian city. The $3.55 billion Disneyland is expected to open in 2005.
)2000 Associated Press
-- Anonymous, May 07, 2000