This would not have been possible were it not for the government making an exception to its policy that the MTR Corporation be self-sustaining through fares and property development. The HK$6 billion capital grant to the MTR Corp for the HK$8.9 billion project will ensure that the line, talked about for more than two decades but not built on the grounds it would be uneconomical, is constructed. Authorities should have adopted this approach long ago. Now that they have a change of heart, they must apply it with speed to other much-needed rail projects. Hong Kong has pressing social and environmental needs that make old policies obsolete.
The rail link from Sheung Wan to Kennedy Town is a perfect example of why a rethink was needed. Too few people will use the line to ensure fare revenue covers its cost and because the area is already developed, the MTR Corp will not be able to recover construction costs by building shops, offices and housing above the three planned stations.
Yet the western part of Hong Kong Island urgently needs an alternative to the bus and tram routes that serve residents, workers and students. During peak hours, travelling times for the short distance to Central can be 20 minutes, sometimes half an hour, along the jammed roads. The choking traffic fumes attest to the unhealthy conditions this creates.
Although some of our city's sleekest residential developments are in the area, many of its neighbourhoods are run-down. The new line will help provide much-needed rejuvenation.
Our premier educational institution, the University of Hong Kong at Pok Fu Lam, is served only by buses, despite having more than 21,000 students and many visitors to its lectures and facilities. Connecting it to our clean and efficient subway system will greatly benefit this vibrant and essential part of our community.
What is true for Western District also applies to other parts of Hong Kong for which planned rail connections have not got past the discussion stage due to economics. The MTR South Island line, one of 10 big infrastructure projects foreshadowed by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen in his recent policy address, would give similar benefits to Aberdeen. A long-sought KCR line from Sha Tin to Central would slash travelling times and boost development along the way. Better rail services to western parts of the New Territories would have a similar impact.
The government policy of ensuring rail projects pay for themselves has had a price. Districts not considered to have a large enough population to support a new line have remained unconnected to networks. This has stunted their development and put more traffic on the roads and, in consequence, increased roadside air pollution. Travelling time to work and school has cut deeply into home and social life, causing unhappiness and stress.
Given these circumstances, the government's shift in approach has to be applauded. But the West Island Line must not just be an exception - it has to become the new rail transport rule.
This way, Hong Kong can best move forward in the sustained manner expected of a city of our stature.
The Hong Kong power provider is building the cotton-stalk fired power plant in Binzhou, Boxing county, Shandong province .
It is to generate 6,000 kilowatt-hour (kWh) and operations will begin next year.
CLP owns 79 per cent of the joint venture company CLP Huanyu (Shandong) Biomass Heat and Power Company.
Shandong Boxing Huanyu Paper Company owns 21 per cent of the firm.
The power plant will collect the cotton stalks, which are agricultural waste, from the farms in the region.
Chan Ka-keung, CLP's managing director of renewables, said the plant will generate electricity for the provincial grid.
"Scientific studies show the heat energy generated from burning 1.7 tonnes of cotton stalk is equal to one tonne of coal," said Dr Chan, who added the project was in line with national policy on developing renewable energy.
In 2005 China passed a renewable energy law in order to boost the use of such energy capacity up to 10 per cent by 2020.
In 2003 China's renewable energy consumption accounted for only 3 per cent of its total energy consumption.
Local farmers and residents are expected to benefit environmentally and financially from the new power plant.
"It will cut up to 117,429 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year," said Qu Xudong, general manager of the joint venture company.
The emission of sulphur dioxide would also be cut by up to 496 per cent per year, he said, without providing any emissions figures.
Local farmers would be able to earn extra income by selling cotton stalks to the power plant.
Mr Qu said the farmers, who used to burn the cotton stalks as waste, could earn about 230 yuan per tonne, which would work out to roughly 5 per cent of a farmers' annual income.
Mr Qu said each tonne of coal cost about 600 yuan. "We burn roughly two tonnes of cotton stalk to generate the energy equivalent to one tonne of coal," he said.
"The rate of return is quite good. More importantly, both the local farmers and the power benefit from the project."
The project is CLP's eighth renewable energy project in Shandong province. The other seven are the wind farm projects in Changdao, Weihai.
Denying a lawmaker's claim that they were nothing more than "foam education", Secretary for Education Michael Suen Ming-yeung told a Legislative Council education panel meeting the value of associate degrees needed to be clearly defined.
"The problem is obvious simply by looking at the figures. There are tens of thousands of associate degree graduates but only a few thousand university places. However, it takes time to solve the problem," Mr Suen told lawmakers.
He said he would address the problems by discussing them with stakeholders over the next three months, but urged lawmakers to be patient.
"The main thing is to accredit students' knowledge by establishing a credit-point system," Mr Suen said.
With such a system in place, associate degree graduates could choose to work for a few years or pursue studies by other routes, such as the Open University of Hong Kong, as part of a solution to ease the bottleneck at universities.
Mr Suen said the government should clearly define where associate degree holders stood in the qualifications framework, in order for graduates to be better recognised by the government and employers.
There are about 3,000 places for sub-degree graduates in the second year of government-funded degree programmes, while there are 25,000 to 30,000 graduates from associate degree and higher diploma courses each year.
Democrat Cheung Man-kwong, who represents the education sector, described the problems surrounding associate degrees as a "ticking education time bomb" and said the future remained uncertain for many young associate degree holders.
Confederation of Trade Unions legislator Lee Cheuk-yan described associate degrees as "foam education", because the paths to further studies they seemed to offer tended to vanish like foam.
Mr Suen rejected this criticism.
"I don't agree with that. There are different pathways for these graduates. We just need to clearly define the value of associate degrees," he said.
But he did not commit to providing more government-subsidised university places for associate degree holders.
Fung Wai-wah, the convenor of an alliance concerned with sub-degree education, welcomed the credit-point idea.
"Some associate degrees do run on a credit-point system, but there is no standardised mechanism, as different universities waive different credit points on an individual basis," he said.
Associate degrees were established in 2001 to meet former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa's plan to provide higher education opportunities for 60 per cent of 18- to 20-year-olds.
Do you think it is high time for the government to step up and resolve the issue of "foam education"?
