The Kaitak Wilderness

This is the old Kaitak Airport today (Sunday a week ago, to be precise). In fact, it has been mostly like this for the past 10 years, since the airport was moved in 1998. I have been coming here once in a while in the past several years and it hasn’t changed much.

This was what it looked like two years ago. For a while young people came here to play cricket, fly remote-control airplanes, ride bicycles, etc. The young people have since been chased off and kept out. The holes in the fences have been plugged. And someone let loose several rabid dogs there, scaring people like me away.

Land is always at a premium in Hong Kong, particularly in the city. Why does the government leave such a big piece of land in the middle of the city to go to waste for so long? And while it fiddles its fingers, taking its time to decide what to do with the old airport, why can’t it allow people to use it for recreation? As for myself, I wouldn’t mind continuing to jog there except for the rabid dogs.