tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890512469208498330.post8946507176645634499..comments2024-01-01T15:18:48.504+08:00Comments on The Toilet Bar: Temporary Absence of ConcreteLarry Feignhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04858729848630471526noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890512469208498330.post-13375954273130135092009-10-26T09:31:19.048+08:002009-10-26T09:31:19.048+08:00When has it ever been chauvinistic to point out th...When has it ever been chauvinistic to point out the truth?Ceciliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03658445910775045863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890512469208498330.post-4344155284970054252009-10-25T13:46:16.787+08:002009-10-25T13:46:16.787+08:00Seriously, I think it's a combination of many ...Seriously, I think it's a combination of many factors:<br /><br />1) Farmer (not just Chinese) mentality of simply disposing rubbish on the land. Seriously, I've watched other old-timers on Lantau as they throw their own household garbage out of their windows onto their own (or neighboring) land.<br /><br />2) A Chinese cultural attitude of focusing very inwardly on the family and by extension the physical household. I find Chinese people to be very interior-oriented, and not just urban ones. You'll commonly find Chinese homes which are immaculate inside and garbage dumps all around, both in the country and in city apartment buildings.<br /><br />3) Sheer laziness. It's simply customary in Hong Kong's rural districts to toss all construction waste on the property next door. The owner doesn't give a damn, since if a property is not being developed for housing, it's worthless anyway. When he does develop it, he simply shoves the garbage onto the next lot, and the cycle continues.<br /><br />4) Government policy. Construction firms have to pay a dumping tax for all materials brought to public dumps. Cheaper to simply chuck it into the bushes. The you don't even have to pay to transport it. Government can't prosecute for dumping onto private land unless the landowner complains, which he usually won't.<br /><br />5) Main reason: poor education. People in Hong Kong are not raised by family, tradition or public education to consider aesthetics as an aspect of life. That's why gaudiness passes as elegance, and why property is valued for its square footage and location, but not for its appearance or even its condition. In a word: pragmatism.Larry Feignhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04858729848630471526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890512469208498330.post-33742265491046410592009-10-25T12:42:45.598+08:002009-10-25T12:42:45.598+08:00I don't know. I just don't get it. If yo...I don't know. I just don't get it. If you read into Feng Shui (not just the decoration bits and doorways bits) then it's also about not having waste and rubbish around.<br />I think it's a combination of poor education, a surfeit of helpers and workers to clean up after one in HK, and a sad out of touchness with the natural world.<br /><br />Is it age related? My lovely dawn chorus of old ladies and men take great care of the public space near us where they do their morning singing and taichi, they're always cleaning and sweeping and do a better job than the LCSD.Gweipohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09377349664812948121noreply@blogger.com