Letters: Pandas could lead the way to human rights discussions

There have been a lot of negative views expressed in the media recently concerning the moral implications of Edinburgh Zoo accepting two pandas from the Chinese government.

I understand that people feel strongly about this since China does not have a great human rights track record and it feels wrong to seemingly overlook these issues in order to gain some rare animals for our zoo.

However, I believe in this case we have acted appropriately.

It is true that the Chinese government is seen to repress both its own people and of course the people of Tibet, but China is an extremely over-populated country and if we refuse to do trade with them, not only are we cutting off our noses to spite our faces, we are also doing an injustice to the Chinese people who rely on their government to survive and who will benefit from trade with the UK because it will provide more jobs and business connections.

By having a trade agreement with China we are not only reaping the rewards that the two pandas will bring, but we are also opening a dialect with the Chinese regime rather than closing off communications, and surely this will give us greater influence in the future and perhaps a way towards human rights discussions.

G Fraser, Stockbridge, Edinburgh

New chief can't do worse than last one

Now that we have a new council chief executive, Susan Bruce, in place, I would like to say to her that she does not have a hard act to follow. In fact the opposite is the case. Her predecessor, Tom Aitchison, failed at every turn in his 16 years in charge.

He was asked to resign over the missing ballot boxes in a local election, he stood by and watched as Labour ran the council budget down to almost zero, he has overseen the trams fiasco, the endless bin dispute and over his time in office, the public have witnessed an ever increasing lack of openness and a general arrogant attitude towards the public.

Change all this around Ms Bruce and you will be worth every penny of your salary. Just walk around the city and ask anyone their opinion of this council and you will get the same reply - incompetent, inept, arrogant, deceitful. As I say, not a hard act to follow.

David Black, Kenmure Avenue, Edinburgh

U-turn on fees is unacceptable

VIOLENt demonstrations on the streets are unacceptable, but so too is the imposition of fees by Nick Clegg and his Lib Dem colleagues - especially when he had promised before the election not to introduce the same.

Politicians speak with forked tongue until they get into power, then it's "I'm all right Jack" and principle goes out of the window.

Don't trust A man with his eye on No 10.

Trevor Swistchew, Victor Park Terrace, Edinburgh

Don't suffer in silence over debt

The wonderful time of Christmas is over again for another year and most people over this period have enjoyed themselves.

The problem now is that if people have not been very careful with their money, many will now be facing hefty bills, which could see them end up in heavy debt.

It is no fun to see those bills coming through the letter box and having difficulty in paying them.

Over the last 15 years a national charity has grown up from one branch to over 150 branches nationally.

The aim of Christians Against Poverty is to get people out of debt over a certain period of time, and during that time to teach them better ways in which to handle and budget their money so they do not fall into debt again.

If there is anybody in Edinburgh who is in debt and needs help after this Christmas' spending spree, they can ring 0800-328-0006 or visit www.capuk.org and receive whatever level of help is required.

This charity does not charge for the services it provides and it helps everyone, whatever their religious beliefs or background.

David S Bell, Mount Pleasant, Swansea