LONG-TERM ISLANDER LOUISE PRESTON IS POISED TO REST ART LIVING ISLANDS MOVEMENT IN THE WAKE OF A NEW POLICY ADDRESS THAT COULD IMPACT SOUTH LANTAU’S ENVIRONMENT. SHE COULD USE SOME HELP.
ELIZABETH KERR REPORTS
PHOTOS BY Beatrix Malan – www.atscollective.com
It’s still unseasonably warm as Louise Preston sits in Café 8, atop the Hong Kong Maritime Museum. Louise isn’t evangelical, but sit with her for a few minutes and it becomes clear quickly that she does act with her conscience, for lack of a better word. Café 8 is supported by The Nesbitt Centre, and so employs over a dozen learning-disabled staff. Louise is civic-minded that way, so it’s easy to understand how she got involved with Living Islands Movement (LIM, www.livingislands.org.hk).
“When we arrived in Lantau almost 20 years ago, we were keen to find out what was going on and get to know the community, and so we checked out a lot of groups,” Louise opens. “LIM was the one that resonated most with us.”
That resonance stemmed from LIM going to bat for the health of Lantau in the face of the Hei Ling Chau super-prison project in 2004, which is what established the group, followed by an argument over the liquid natural gas facility on the Soko Islands, a bid to reopen Mui Wo’s secondary school, and fighting the controversial Shek Kwu Chau incinerator. Louise got involved over the school issue, even though she and her husband Max – the aforementioned ‘we’ – don’t have kids of their own.
But, as mentioned, Louise isn’t evangelical. Before launching into her trepidation over Chief Executive John Lee’s first policy address – plans to develop artificial islands around Kau Yi Chau and huge swathes of South Lantau for ‘eco-tourism and recreation’ – she’s more than willing to share her thoughts on… just about everything.
A born raconteur, Louise tells stories about early, chaotic Cantonese lessons when she first relocated, the strangeness of COVID in Hong Kong and how she has been pleasantly surprised by M+. We discuss the future of office real estate, the structure of Hangeul, Bahasa and watching Indonesia grow up, ESG and the global drive to net zero, the now-quaint resistance to hot-desking way back in 2000 and the best place for drinks and a view in the SAR. “Hutong,” she says, “hands down.”
THE ROAD TO TONG FUK
Louise grew up in Winchester, about 100 kilometres southwest of London, and spent a lot of time in Seattle and upstate New York before heading off to Sydney’s PwC office over 25 years ago. She landed there mostly because the idea of working overseas appealed to her younger self. She’d vacationed in Australia, enjoyed it and, as she says, “Who would turn down Sydney?” She spent five years there, and followed it with three in Jakarta working in business development as the country started emerging as a modern state.
It was in Jakarta that Louise met her husband Max at a dinner party hosted by mutual friends. A legal professional, Max soon accepted a job in Hong Kong, which led to a few years of long-distance dating. “We fell in love with Asia and when the opportunity to live in Hong Kong came up, well. It seemed more comfortable for the long term, despite how much we loved Jakarta.”
Once Louise found a gig in Hong Kong, she relocated and the couple got married. Max had lived in Mid-Levels but the couple weekended on Lantau while dating. After tying the knot, it was off to Lantau for good, over 17 years ago now, eight of those in Tong Fuk.
“It took me two years to persuade Max to move to Lantau full time,” Louise recalls with a chuckle. “But the local villagers were incredibly friendly and welcoming, and that made such a difference. It felt like home very quickly. It’s the longest I’ve lived anywhere in my adult life and I think it’s probably the reason I’ve been in Hong Kong so long.”
BACK IN THE HOT SEAT
In breaking news, Louise is returning to her role as LIM chair. After exhausting herself on the Mui Wo school fight, she stepped back and let Merrin Pearse take over. Merrin headed back to his native New Zealand last year, so now she’s back.
Louise insists that LIM’s dialogue with agencies like Development and Conservation of Lantau and the Civil Engineering and Development Department has worked, and that their 18-year relationship has earned them a seat at the table. “We have a good relationship with these guys. Long may it continue,” she states.
Though the battle for Shek Wu Kau was lost, the Hei Ling Chau project was quashed and LIM technically won the school argument, even though by the time they did the building was too derelict to use. No doubt, the incinerator stings, but there were lessons learnt over it.
“Government departments have become much more consultative since then,” Louise says. “LIM delayed the incinerator for years and they learnt it may have been more efficient to hold consultations first rather than having them be disruptive.”
Louise also insists development and environmentalism need not be mutually exclusive, citing the South Lantau Sewerage Scheme.
“This is a really sexy topic,” she quips of the scheme designed to address village house septic tanks leaking waste into the sea and grey water in open drains with 15 kilometres of trunk sewers. “That’s why there are roadworks in South Lantau at the moment. There will be a new treatment plant. LIM completely supports this project. Be patient. It will result in cleaner water going into the sea and more hygienic conditions in villages.”
IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL
LIM’s been quiet for a while, and is really only active when it has a campaign to wage, but the proposed 1,000-hectare recreation zone on South Lantau from Pui O to past Shek Pik – an area the size of 10 Ocean Parks – and the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands project got Louise’s attention.
Louise met with the Civil Engineering and Development Department on November 9, hoping the scale of the eco-tourism/ recreation plans for South Lantau would prove to be much smaller than the 1,000 hectares stated.
Post-meeting, she says: “We don’t want to react out of proportion. But it looks as if these projects may be a reason for LIM to relaunch.”
Formerly the East Lantau Metropolis and later part of Lantau Tomorrow Vision 2030, Louise is pleased ‘Lantau’ has been taken out of the Kau Yi project name. “It’s a whole Hong Kong issue,” she says.
LIM has its work cut out for it, having lost four of seven committee members in the last couple of years, and Louise admits she’ll be actively engaging the scores of newcomers to the island – and soon. [Email info@livingislands.org.hk to get involved.] Lee wants an Environmental Impact Assessment next year, and to kick‑start the reclamation works in 2025. A response to a 300-page EIA can take ages to draft, and LIM needs to be ready.
Committee members need to commit to a potentially long haul. “Most of the projects I’ve mentioned take years to resolve,” Louise explains. “But when you see something being built, it’s too late to object.”
For now, LIM is in wait-and-see mode, and will decide how to proceed once more concrete plans are unveiled. Until then, Louise and her dog Mungo, “not to be confused with husband Max,” will enjoy their leisure time. Which doesn’t mean LIM is resting on its laurels. “We’re a small community group,” Louise concludes, “but we tend to punch above our weight.”