Hong Kong's rising conservationists fight to save pink dolphins

A turning point came in 2005 with the demolition of the iconic Star Ferry pier, says art curator and heritage activist John Batten. For more than 50 years, the pier hosted the ferry service that connects Hong Kong island with its mainland, a choppy seven-minute ride memorialized in countless films. The proposed relocation of the piers brought thousands of residents out to sit-ins and candlelight vigils.

The pier was not saved, but the uproar showed the government how much people cared about the city’s public spaces and history. It was, as Hong Kong’s chief executive, Donald Tsang, acknowledged, an “awakening," one that reflected a postcolonial shift in a city once described as a “borrowed time in a borrowed place.” The phrase, popularized by a 1968 book on Hong Kong, indicates the sense of transience experienced by Chinese and expat communities uncertain of the city's fate after 1997.

Now “this is home, and we are here,” says Ms. Loh.

That shift is also demographic. Those born here in the 1970s and 1980s are coming of age now, Loh points out. They are better educated and “hooked into issues” in a way their parents never were. They are also frustrated with a political system in which full direct representation is years away, though they are more optimistic about the impact of dissent on government decisionmaking. A recent survey shows that nearly half of those under 30 think the government would or might change its policies in respone to widespread public opposition.

Small victories

Despite its victories, the conservation battle has been uphill. Many of Hong Kong’s public spaces have already been lost, and what is being saved – such as the tong lau of Wing Lee Street – is seen by some as minor concessions.

Similarly, conservationists were able to help avert a natural-gas terminal being built in dolphin waters, but they are now struggling to halt a proposed 26-mile bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macau, and China that could cut right through their habitat.

How well the dolphins are doing today depends on whom you ask, and is hard to verify because of the lack of scientific research. Officials claim they’re thriving, though data from the Marine Mammal Stranding Program show the number of stranded dolphins found every year rose during the 1990s. Walker says it is harder to find them now on her tours, which she has led since 1997. At best, she suggests, their numbers are holding steady.

Still, activists like Loh remain optimistic. Social movements are here to stay, she says. “[T]hey are the zeitgeist! They are irresistible.”

IN PICTURES: Pink dolphins

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