[27^th January 2019, Hong Kong] Kenny Kwan, Ken Hung and Angela Hui, three artistes from Emperor Entertainment Group, participated in a beach cleanup event with the volunteers at Lap Sap Wan, Cape D'Aguilar in Shek O, where they pulled out all the stops to keep the coastline clean. Situated at the southern Shek O, Lap Sap Wan has accumulated waves of marine refuse owing to the influence of wind stress and ambient flow. Despite the menacing environment, they were determined to make every effort to keep Hong Kong’s coastline clean, hoping to raise public awareness on environmental protection.

This Lap Sap Wan cleanup event was initiated by Brightway Hong Kong and residents from the Southern District. Mr. Alex Yeung, Executive Director of Emperor Group and Chairman of Brightway Hong Kong, stressed that he felt honored to lead volunteers from Brightway Hong Kong, Hong Kong United Youth Association and Hong Kong Island Women's Association to attend this event and contribute to Hong Kong’s coastline, “The volunteers and I hope that we can not only facilitate the cleaning process, but also raise public awareness towards Lap Sap Wan in a bid to reserve the natural beauty of coastline in the Southern District. Mr. Yeung also encouraged the volunteers to act environmental-friendly in their daily lives and reduce waste at source by using less plastic products, taking good care of our nature.

Noticing the countless garbage accumulated on Lap Sap Wan, Kenny exclaimed, “When I discovered those innumerable plastic waste on Lap Sap Wan, I started to realize that our lifestyle is selfish and profligate indeed. Sometimes I will opt for convenience and adopt disposable plastic products like everyone else. Yet, I am here today to witness the long-term impact of plastic waste on the environment and marine ecology. Thus, I have decided to reduce waste at source from today onwards!”

Mr. Alex Yeung, Chairman of Brightway Hong Kong, Ms. Carol Cheung, Vice-Chairman of Brightway Hong Kong and President of Hong Kong Island Women's Association, Dr. Chu Ching-hong, Chairman of the Southern District Council, as well as Mr. Chan Fu Ming, Vice-Chairman of the Southern District Council, officiated the kick-off ceremony together with the three artistes, Kenny, Ken and Angela. The guests then led the group of volunteers from Brightway Hong Kong to set off for Lap Sap Wan. Mrs Dorothy Ma, District Officer (Southern), Mr. Chen Che Kong, Assistant Director (Water Policy) of Environmental Protection Department, as well as Ms. Hui So Hing, District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Southern) of Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, also attended the event.

The route to Lap Sap Wan is far from easy as the participants had to hike on a rugged trail before arriving at their destination. Rubble and debris scattered all over the bay, while the participants paid extra attention to walk on the beach. In face of all the difficulties, everyone joined hands to collect the garbage so as to re-present the breathtaking scenery of the bay. Ken was astonished by the situation of Lap Sap Wan, he said, “I have never thought that there is such a place with countless garbage in Hong Kong. It just took me less than 10 minutes to collect a large bag of garbage. I know that there is a nature reserve just next to Lap Sap Wan with a stunning scenery, and we should definitely take action to protect the ecology here. I hope that I can participate in more events of the same type and make greater contribution to our Mother Earth.” Regardless of the regular service provided by cleaning workers, marine refuse keeps drifting to the shore ceaselessly on account of factors like wind direction and geographical location, adding hindrance to the cleaning process. Angela deemed that this event was very meaningful, she added, “I am really pleased to have a chance to attend this beach cleanup event with volunteers from Brightway Hong Kong and the Southern District. This experience makes me feel so upset as I have realized the devastating human impact on the environment. I really wish that the public can be more attentive to the marine pollution problem and work together to protect the environment.”