After 12 years at the helm, Friends of the Earth director Mei Ng could not resist one final blast at Hong Kong's poor
environmental record before leaving office.
She announced late last month she was stepping down but, true to form, she fired a parting shot, accusing the government of not doing enough to protect the environment.
``It's really pathetic but, in fact, we are being deprived of our right to know [about environmental issues] ... with the government providing only piece-meal information,'' Ng said in an interview with The Standard.
``I think it's a sad thing when we do not have the right to redress our grievances on environmental issues,'' she added.
Ng has spent the past 12 years raising environmental issues and fighting bureaucracy.
In October 1998, she informed the Ombudsman that the government and a power company had both used the same consultant with regard to the expansion of electricity units, though the complaint was rejected.
In March 2001, Ng complained about the Strategic Sewage Disposal Scheme (now called the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme) that required the building of a deep tunnel through which the city's sewage was pumped into the South China Sea.
``It's problematic because the government was transporting the sewage to the sea without treating it.
``Besides, pumping our sewage toward our neighbor's doorstep is definitely irresponsible. It also pollutes the fish-breeding grounds and poisons the food chain. We will be the victims eventually,'' said Ng.
However, this complaint was also rejected by the ombudsman since it was ``a technical dispute.''
Ng, 58, describes herself as an ``accidental environmentalist.''
She majored in anthropology at the University of California and graduated in 1974. Later, she worked on child-health issues during which she became aware of cancer cases that may have been caused by various forms of pollution. She then decided to ``declare war against pollution'' and devoted herself to the green
campaign.
In 1990, she joined Friends of the Earth as a volunteer, becoming its director three years later. In 2000, the organization was invited to join the Advisory Council on the Environment, and last year, Ng was co-opted into the Harbourfront Enhancement Committee.
Ng said she is pleased that there has been more discussion about environmental protection, but displeased that only a few issues resulted in action.
``We took three steps forward and five steps backward.'' Ng remarked.
On one hand, she said, the government was discussing anti-pollution measures, while on the other, Hong Kong's businessmen were transferring their pollution-emitting industries to the mainland.
Ng said Hong Kong's green movement lags behind those in many countries, though it did score a major victory in helping limit harbor reclamation by setting up the Harbourfront Enhancement Committee.
She said public awareness of various issues is also increasing, but a comprehensive law for environmental protection is lacking.
``I would like to see a recycling policy, a packaging law and a product responsibility law put in place in the near future,'' she said.
Ng was upset when her call for open meetings of the Advisory Council on the Environment was defeated earlier this year.
``We have no choice but to use polluted products, to buy heavily-packed goods and to tolerate the use of excessive transportation,'' she said.
Ng said that despite pledges by new Chief Executive Donald Tsang and other senior government officials, she doubted whether Hong Kong would have effective environmental protection laws in the near future.
For example, the Council for Sustainable Development has so far come up with only vague proposals, she said.
The big concern, she said, comes when the government says it has to strike a balance between economic benefits, social development and environmental protection as it is invariably the latter that has to be compromised.
Ng said she has not had the opportunity to discuss environmental issues with Tsang.
``But whether he will commit the government to environmental protection is something for which we will have to wait and see.''
chester.yung@singtaonewscorp.com |
