Crooked agents IN response to Chris Edwards’ column in which he discusses real estate agents, I would say, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” You may think you now finally have an apartment since you signed a lease contract, but unlike many other countries where the landlord cannot just kick you out, things are different in China. If they can get another tenant willing to pay more for the apartment or if they are able to sell the apartment, then they just ask you to leave and pay you the one-month rental fee as a fine (if you are lucky). Many members of my staff have lost their apartments this way, and that is one of the reasons people in China prefer to buy because as a tenant, you hardly have any rights and can be thrown out on the street just like that. In Hong Kong, real estate agents think that selling you an apartment for HK$30 million (US$3.86 billion) is same like selling you a cake for HK$1. If they talk about an apartment with a seaview, then they mean that you can only see the sea after climbing on top of the toilet. Real estate agents as well as developers in Hong Kong and the mainland are in it for only one thing: to take you for every penny they can get out of you as quick as possible. They know the law will not protect you! Jeffry Kuperus via email Aviation investment SHENZHEN Daily reported Thursday that China would invest 500 billion yuan (US$80 billion) in aviation projects, meaning that by 2020, there will be an increase of 20 percent in the number of airports, rising from 200 to 240. The article did not mention if any of this money will go to the expansion of air traffic control or an increase in airspace for commercial routes. If this does not happen, then the only thing I read is that by 2020, our average six-hour flight delays will increase to six days. It is rather simple: If you have more cars, you need more roads, so if you plan to increase the number of flights, destinations and airports, you need to open more commercial airspace and invest more in air traffic control, which is the major source of delays. Without investment in air traffic control, China should not bother investing in new airports and increasing airport capacity. Jeffry Kuperus via email | 