An Encounter with the Director of the Hong Kong Observatory

The University of Hong Kong Alumni group organized a drinks gathering last night, with Mr. Chiu Ying Lam (林超英), the Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, as the guest. I had the privilege of sitting at Mr. Lam's table and listening to him talk. Mr. Lam is an easy going environmentalist. Below are some of discussion topics:

• Mr. Lam has no doubt that the air pollution in Hong Kong comes mainly from the Mainland, unlike what the Environment Protection Department says.
  
• Our society emphasizes on materialistic possession and spending as what constitutes happiness.
  
• There are three levels of happiness. The most superficial level is event-based and is temporary, e.g. somebody has praised us. The second level is our state of mind over a longer term, e.g. we are generally contented despite some occasional disturbances in life. The ultimate level is to become spiritually serene and at peace, a state of which comes from a detachment from the materialistic world.
• A person has to respect the natural environment and believe that we are part of this natural environment in order to become truly concerned about the environment.
• Environmentalism needs marketing. The terms "green" or "environmentally friendly" have become cliches. Mr. Lam thinks A Healthy Living (健康生活) is a good slogan because everybody can understand and relate to it.

I, as usual, was not able to make a presence or leave an impression. I just sat and listened. It was still an experience for me to participate in the social gathering.