Dining not as easy as 'ABC'

It's foolish to put much faith into the ratings Beijing health inspectors give restaurants in the city (How safe is your local restaurant? December 5). A lot of my favorite restaurants have the lowest C rating, but that won't stop me eating there. If inspectors focused solely on premises' cleanliness, staff hygiene and food safety procedures instead of management and bookkeeping, I would trust the ratings more. Eating at my C-grade restaurants has never caused me to suffer food poisoning. Then again, maybe it's because my immune system has built up a strong resistance to unsanitary food.

Lenny Lewis, by e-mail

Coffee a 'white-collar' drink

The popularity of coffee in China has indeed grown over the past decade, but it will never be a "drink of the people" (Coffee buzz still brewing, December 6). In February this year, Starbucks hiked its prices in China even though Chinese consumers already pay 75 percent more than those in the US; a regular sized café Americano from Starbucks in China costs 21 yuan ($3.20) compared to 12 yuan ($1.80) in a US outlet. Unlike in China, coffee in the US remains a drink for all people - from blue-collar workers and impoverished college students to high-end businesspeople and politicians. Tea will always fulfill this role in China and coffee, as long as it is grossly overpriced, will remain an elitist beverage.

Qiu Jianguo, by e-mail

Cat deaths a blight on zoo

Blood of the dozens of stray cats that froze to death is on the Beijing Zoo's hands after it dismantled a shelter for the animals last month (Cats freezing to death in Beijing Zoo, claim volunteers, December 12). There is no easy solution to eradicating the city's population of stray cats and dogs, but surely intervening by humanely euthanizing the animals is better than letting nature take its destructive course this winter.

Gary Lee, by e-mail

Line 1 needs screen doors

It amazes me how Beijing's public transport authorities can push ahead by extending subway lines and building entire new ones, yet neglect upgrading the safety of the city's oldest, most patronized line: Line 1 (Slow-track response to fallen man, December 10). It's a miracle the man who fell onto the tracks at Sihui Subway Station on Sunday was rescued by quick-thinking passengers, but the fact remains such an accident can only happen on lines 1 and 13 because they lack platform screen doors. It's true that they aren't cheap to install, but they save lives, improve security and prevent littering on the tracks. Such an upgrade is long overdue.

Lu Cong, by e-mail

SantaCon more like StingyCon

Any money raised for charity is better than none at all, but it's a shame only 2,300 yuan ($370) was raised from this year's SantaCon in Beijing (Santa's little gulpers, December 10). Divide 2,300 yuan by the more than 150 people who participated and it works out to a donation of 15 yuan per person - a paltry amount when you consider the same people spent probably 10 times this amount on drinks that day.

Andy Blake, by e-mail