Grave of 'HK elder' discovered in overgrown cemetery
Calls have been made for better management of Hong Kong's graveyards after the tomb of an important historical figure was found in a wild and disordered cemetery run by the government.
The grave of Hu Liyuan , a thinker and writer who had a strong influence on Republic of China founder Sun Yat-sen, was discovered in the Mount Caroline Cemetery in So Kon Po, along with those of his wife and grandson.
The discovery was made when the South China Morning Post visited four cemeteries - two government-managed and two private - with two graves experts. The visit followed last week's Post report that a contractor for Britain's Ministry of Defence had botched repairs to historic gravestones in the Hong Kong Cemetery.
Yesterday's visit revealed that the two graveyards managed by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department were poorly maintained - with leaning and unsecured tombstones posing a danger to the public - while the private ones were in perfect condition.
As well as Mount Caroline, the Post team visited the Hong Kong Cemetery - also managed by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department - the Jewish Cemetery and the Parsee Cemetery with experts Ken Nicolson, a graves conservationist and professor of architecture at the University of Hong Kong, and Paul Harrison, a graves restorer for the Jewish Cemetery.