I would like to thank the Country and Marine Parks Board for summarily rejecting the plan by British operator Flying Fox to build an adventure attraction for the paying public within North Lantau Country Park ("Advisers shoot down zip-line plan", October 18).
Such an attraction would most certainly damage the fragile ecosystem of the Ngong Ping plateau, disturb the flora and fauna, and encroach on the country park that rightly belongs to all Hong Kong citizens. Furthermore, as a long-time resident of Ngong Ping, I have seen the once tranquil environment of the plateau steadily degrade, largely due to the erection of the statue of the Buddha, and then with the construction of the cable car system and commercial centre.
The Ngong Ping 360 company, the cable car operator, has the cheek to call its shopping mall-cum-eating-place, "Ngong Ping Village", usurping the name of a village which has existed for more than 100 years. Why did the government allow this?
Casual day trippers may not realise that there are, in place, three separate loudspeaker systems broadcasting announcements over the plateau. One belongs to the Po Lin Monastery, another is operated by the New Lantao Bus Company, and the last by Ngong Ping 360. This company also plays a repetitive kind of Chinese music continuously over its public address system, starting at 8am and ending in the evening.
Sadly, Ngong Ping, located at the opposite end of the island from Disneyland, is now just another themed park for tourists, but with a "Buddhist" flavour .
As eroded as the natural environment is here, it remains the duty of all citizens and their representatives in government to do all they can to preserve what remains of this unique locale on Lantau, and of our country parks throughout Hong Kong.
