Dear Sir,

Of all the other world cities, it is already long-established that Hong Kong is one of the very safest. The dedicated work of the Hong Kong Police Force - and not least by their 24-hour foot patrols of this city's streets - mean city residents are most unlikely to be mugged, shot, stabbed or attacked in other ways. Sadly, the same cannot be so easily said of New York, Rio de Janeiro, Delhi, London, Paris, Cairo or elsewhere. Such a commendable level of personal safety in our teeming city is won not by chance but rather by the sterling efforts of our disciplined services in making Hong Kong one of this world's safest places.

Two recent incidents have highlighted another area in which our public safety is achieved through the dedicated efforts of those tasked with protecting us. I am writing of the two very large and powerful World War II unexploded bombs which were recently uncovered - within a few days of each other - at the same MTR construction site in Wan Chai.

Discovery of these unexploded munitions caused immediate evacuation of thousands of people from the wide area of danger. As Hong Kong citizens moved themselves out of the danger zone, just as soon as they could, and as regular police officers closed local roads, footbridges and helped evacuate nearby buildings, it was the unpalatable task of those in the police explosive ordnance disposal team to instead head toward the bombs, toward that deadly danger to life and limb they represent, to try to disarm them. What tremendous courage it must take to calmly do that!

Bomb disposal specialists around the world know that any day's standard work for them might all too easily end in their being maimed or even killed by an explosion of the bomb they are working on. Such work must count as one of the most hazardous in the range of Hong Kong public-service careers, and the whole community has every reason to thank them for their brave work, which results in safety for the whole community.

Who could ever forget tentatively watching, some 20 years ago, Diana, Princess of Wales, as a publicity stunt walking through a live minefield in Angola to draw attention to that long-term danger? Unfortunately, as a legacy of other wars here in Asia, nearby countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos still have numerous landmines spread around their countryside. These can and do still kill and maim people, highlighting the long-term dangers such bombs present. Indeed, on a visit that I made to Cambodia, it was deeply distressing to notice the large proportion of amputees in the general population, whose lower limbs were blown off by landmines.

Hong Kong's occupation by the Japanese during World War II was a dreadful and cruel time, during which the occupying forces committed numerous atrocities on the defending soldiers and civilians alike. But, thankfully for today's citizenry, the legacy of landmines left intact was not one which pertained here. Most of the unexploded bombs turning up in today's Hong Kong are bombs dropped from military aircraft, which failed to explode when they were dropped onto this city about 70 years ago. As these recent days of evacuated areas of Wan Chai can attest, such bombs can still present a great danger to the public, all these decades later.

As well as giving public recognition - and thanks - to our courageous bomb disposal team members, it may be hoped they are rewarded in other ways too: such as by receiving "danger money" - that is greatly enhanced salaries for taking on a job which few would relish, and which could all-too-readily result in their death or maiming.

In this age of ever-expanding activities conducted by robots, self-drive cars and more, it would be a good thing if more robots could be designed to handle the close approach to unexploded munitions, rather than subject human flesh and blood to such grave dangers. However, difficulties of ready access, and the delicate nature of the specialist tasks involved, unfortunately mean that for the moment, few cases avail themselves of this safer way of dealing with unexploded bombs. Let us hope technological advances in future would delegate these deadly tasks to robots. Meanwhile, all credit to these team members, and all thanks to them too, for keeping us safe.

Paul Surtees

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